Ring Of Fire
by Rukie
Summary: He manipulates fire. She creates it. They should be friends, right? Rated for language/implications. Thanks to SweetRevengeful-aka-lamika for the name! COMPLETE.
1. Chapter 1

disclaimer: only writing this once. I get nothing from this except cheap thrills.

**Prologue**

The word was going around that she was a streetrat. Like John was a streetrat. Everyone assumed that they'd be friends, since their powers were so alike. But not so. From the minute she saw and spoke to St John Allerdyce, or _Pyro_, she had hated him. No one knew why. No one except her. And she wasn't sharing.

----

**Chapter 1**

_I don't want the world to see me_

_Cause I don't think that they'd understand_

_When everything's made to be broken_

_I just want you to know who I am._

These words had never struck her so hard before, as she walked down the hall at Xaviers School for The Gifted. She still didn't understand why she was here, nor did she trust the people who had brought her, claiming that she would be safe here. She didn't think she'd ever feel safe again. Not after watching her sister die, and her dreams along with her. She scrunched her eyes shut as her sisters screams sounded again in her ears, not noticing that the few people in the hallway pressed themselves against the walls as she passed. When she opened them again, flames were dancing in the air in front of her. She blinked, and they disappeared. She sighed. She had thought that she was beyond the stage where she needed to concentrate to keep her powers in her control. Apparently not. She glanced at the door beside her as she passed and sighed again. Lost in her thoughts, she had passed her new room. She turned and stalked back to the right door.

Turning the knob, she found a single room in front of her, with a connecting bathroom. There was dresser, a desk, and a large closet as well. She dumped her small bag of possessions on the floor and sat down on the twin bed. Looking around, she took in the cream and wood panelled walls, undecorated, but with obvious space for personal items. Standing again, she investigated the bathroom. It was small, but contained a set of cabinets, a shower, a toilet, and a sink with a mirror above it. There was already a toothbrush and a set of combs and brushes in the cabinets when she opened them, along with toothpaste and the basic necessities that a girl needed during certain parts of the month. She'd have to tell the people who brought her here that she wouldn't require them. She shut her eyes and shook her head to clear the memories. There was a knocking sound. She looked around, wondering what it was, then realised that there was someone at the door to her room.

When she dragged it open, she found three people her age standing in the hall. Taking them in, she decided that the must be good friends. And the girl with the white streak in her hair and the blond boy with the stunning blue eyes were together. The other boy, with nondescript brown hair and eyes, was flicking a lighter open and shut, an arrogant look on his slightly handsome face. She decided she didn't like him. She eyed them for a moment, then the girl spoke.

"Uh, hi," She stammered. "I'm Rogue. We heard that you were new here, so we came to say hello. This," she gestured to the blond boy, "is Bobby, and the other one is John."

"St John," The brown haired boy corrected. "St John Allerdyce."

Rogue rolled her eyes. "What's your name?" She asked.

"I don't have one."

Rogue's eyes widened. "You must have a name!"

She shook her head. "I gave it up a long time ago." She replied.

The blond boy, Bobby, interrupted. "Is there something you'd like us to call you?" He asked.

She thought for a moment. "I'm partial to Vincent."

John laughed mockingly. "Vincent is a _boy's_ name. You obviously aren't a guy."

"And St John is a _holy _name. And obviously you ain't no saint." She shot back.

He shrugged as the others gave him disproving looks. "So, what can you do?" Bobby asked.

Vincent raised her hand, fingers curved. When she opened them, a flame sat in her palm. John's eyes widened, and he put his hand out. The flame flickered, drawn towards him. Vincent closed her fingers, and it disappeared. She raised her eyebrow. He stared at her for a moment, then sneered and walked away. Vincent glared after him.

"I'm sorry about him." Bobby said, drawing her attention. "He's not usually like this."

Rogue laughed. "Bobby, don't you see? He's _jealous_."

Vincent looked at her. Rogue, seeing the question, explained. "He can manipulate fire, but he can't create it."

Bobby smiled at the slightly happier expression on her face. "Well, I'm sure you have stuff to unpack. Dinner's in an hour. See you there?"

Vincent nodded, and went to close the door. She stopped, however, and turned back. "Could you come get me?" She asked. "I don't exactly know my way around."

Rogue grinned. "Sure," she agreed.

Vincent thanked her, then shut the door. _What am I going to do for an hour?_ She wondered, then eyed the empty walls. _I wonder where I can get some paint around here..._

----

"So, what do you think of her?" Bobby asked Rogue as they went down the hall.

"I like her," Rogue replied. "It's about time that someone gave Johnny a little trouble. No one wants to get on his bad side, so they don't say anything to him, and now he thinks that he can get away with anything."

"I do not," John's voice stated, startling Rogue, as he materialised, seemingly out of nowhere, on Rogue's other side. "I have yet to get away with stealing beer from Professor Stick-up-the-ass."

"John," Rogue squeaked. "You have _got_ to stop doing that. You're going to be the death of me!"

"And," Bobby broke in. "You really shouldn't be drinking beer at all, let alone stealing it from Proffessor Summers!"

"And why not?" John asked indignantly. "I have yet to get so drunk as to set the school on fire."

"Exactly!" Bobby exclaimed. "We're in _school._ You shouldn't be doing that here."

John raised his eyebrows. "Would it be more acceptable, Drake, if I drank off of school grounds?"

"No." Scott's voice broke in, "And what do you mean, stealing beer from me, Allerdyce?"

John gulped. "Nothing, Proffessor, sir. Just a joke."

Scott regarded him calmly. "Detention, Mister Allerdyce. I assume you know the time and place?"

John nodded, glaring.

"Good." Scott continued on down the hallway. John stared angrily after him. Rogue gave him a pitying look, then turned into her room.

"See you later, guys!"

Bobby and John continued on down the hallway to their shared room. As soon as the door shut behind them, John launched into a rant.

"Another weekend gone! What the hell is wrong with that fucking teacher? Why did I have to agree to go meet the goddamned new girl? This is your fault, Bobby, and I'll never forgive you-"

Sighing, Bobby tuned out, gathered some clothes and went to take a shower.

----

An hour later, Vincent came out of her trance-like state at a knock on the door.

"Come in!" She called. The door opened and Rogue entered, trailed by Bobby. John remained outside. Vincent shot him a glare in return for the one he was giving her, then ignored him. She stepped off the bed as Rogue took in the room around her.

"Wow." Rogue turned, staring at the different shaded red, orange and yellow swirls across the walls around her. "The teachers know you're doing this?"

Vincent nodded. "I spoke to Miss Munroe, and she spoke to Xavier. He gave me permission, as long as I don't put obscenities or inappropriate images on them." She turned, taking in her work. The different shades went well with the cream walls, giving the room the look that it was on fire.

Rogue traced a painted swirl with her gloved finger, but lost it as it twirled into a complicated knot over the bed. "This is really intricate." She noted. "It's amazing."

Vincent smiled. "Thanks. I always like to paint."

Bobby knocked against the open door. "Hello?" He asked. "Boys are hungry!"

"Coming!" Vincent replied, then looked down at herself. Her trashy black jeans were covered in semidry paint, as was her ripped shirt. Rogue smiled. 

"We'll wait while you change." She went to go out the door.

"Don't bother." Vincent said. She motioned to her paint splattered clothes. "This is all I've got."

Rogue's eyes went wide. "All you've got?" She repeated.

Vincent nodded.

A militant look came into Rogue's eyes. "Not anymore." She said, and, grabbing Vincent by the hand, dragged her out of the room and down the hall.

----

"News flash, Rogue, you must be suffering from amnesia. This is _our room_, not yours." John said.

Rogue stopped for a moment and glared. "Too bad." She continued digging through John's dresser, pulling out clothes.

"Hey, what the fuck?" John yelled. "What the hell are you doing?"

Rogue held up a pair of jeans that John had never worn, claiming that they were too girly, and appraised them. She tossed them onto the steadily growing pile beside her. "News flash, John," She teased. "You're the only one close to Vincent's size. You never wear three quarters of this stuff anyway."

John glowered. "They're still mine!" He grabbed Bobby's arm. "Talk some sense into your girlfriend!"

Vincent, ignoring them, was taking in the room. It was easy to tell whose side was whose. One side was strewn with stuff, tshirts and school work, bottles of lighter fluid and cheap deoderant. The other side was clean, the bed made and school work stacked neatly on the desk. There was a line on the floor, where stuff had obviously been kicked back to the cluttered other side of the room. Bobby, seeing her stare, smiled.

"If I have to live with him, I refuse to deal with his mess. The bathroom is the same."

Vincent smirked, and was brought back to reality as Rogue stuffed a pile of clothes into her arms and grabbed another.

"Come on." She said, "Dinner is soon. We'll dump this stuff in your room, you can get changed and we'll go eat."

Vincent and both boys sighed as she was pulled out of the room, and pushed back down the hallway.

----

Five minutes later, Vincent emerged from her bathroom, dressed in jeans and a form fitting shirt. The others were sitting on her bed, talking. Rogue looked up.

"Ha! I knew I could do it! Even with John's horrible sense of style and bad taste in clothes, I have managed to create an outfit!" She held out her hand, and Bobby reluctantly placed a five dollar bill in it. John glared. Rogue beamed. The room filled with an awkward silence. Finally, Bobby stretched.

"Let's go eat."

----

Vincent was still in a stunned state a week later. She felt like she'd been hit by a truck. And a train. And, just for the heck of it, a jet. This time last week, she was trying to figure out how to survive another day on the streets of Manhatten. Today, she had clean clothes, she had friends (Rogue having declared that she was now one of her friends), and she had food, as much of it as she wanted. She felt like she'd explode if she ate another bite. She'd been afraid to eat at first, fearing that someone would take the food away as a cruel joke, but once she'd seen Rogue, her new friend, and more importantly, her new _female_ friend, tucking in, she'd eaten all that she could as fast as she could. John sneered and called her a pig, but she'd ignored him. For some reason that the others couldn't figure out, in their first hours of knowing eachother, Vincent and John had formed a mutual hatred. It might have been the fact that Vincent was wearing his clothes without his permission on John's part, or that she had no other clothes to wear on Vincents part, and was forced to wear the clothes of a guy who didn't use them yet still complained about it. The truth was, John hated her cause he could tell that she hated him, and Vincent hated him cause he reminded her of her past, or, more selectively, someone in her past. Which the conversation was coming dangerously close to.

"So, _Vincent_," John said mockingly, "What's your story?"

Vincent glared at him, and looked around. Everyone in the six-click (whom Rogue had introduced her to - they consisted of a girl named Jubilee, another named Kitty, a guy named Piotr, but everyone called Peter, and Rogue, John, and Bobby) was staring at her, waiting for her reply.

She shrugged. "The professor picked me up off the streets in Manhatten, after I burned a building down."

"I've been meaning to ask you about something." Rogue stated. "You said that you asked Miss Munroe to speak to Professor Xavier about painting on your walls, right?"

Vincent nodded.

"Well," Rogue paused. "You know you can talk to him yourself, right?"

Vincent froze. Rogue, seeing that she'd hit something, began to apologize.

"No, it's ok." Vincent broke in. "I just, don't trust men."

Everyone paused. Then John began to laugh. "What, because of your time on the streets?"

Vincent nodded slowly. John laughed harder. "I - was a street - kid - too." He gasped between laughs, holding his stomach. "And I - I'm not afraid- afraid of men. You- you must be - a wimp!"

Vincent slammed her fork and knife down, pushed her chair back, and left. John stopped laughing, looking after her. When he looked back, everyone else was glaring at him.

"What?" He asked innocently. "What did I say?"

Rogue reached out and smacked him on the side of the head. "Go talk to her, you idiot!"

John stared at her. "Why? The girl hates me. We know that. What's talking going to do?"

Jubilee broke in. "Didn't you see her face, you ass? She was almost crying! Go talk to her!"

John looked around for support. Both Bobby and Piotr were glaring at him. Sighing, he got up and followed Vincent out of the room.

----

He found her halfway to her room, collapsed on the floor in the fetal position, gasping and shuddering. John froze, then knelt down beside her. When he touched her shoulder, she stopped moving. He rolled her over onto her back. She stared at him out of red, puffy eyes.

"Hey." John whispered.

Vincent pushed herself away from him.

"I didn't mean to make you cry."

She didn't say anything.

Now John was starting to get angry. He'd gone through all the effort of swallowing his pride and coming up here, now she wouldn't even accept his apology? What the fuck was wrong with the girl.

"Sorry, I guess you are just a big wimp. I shouldn't have bothered." He pushed himself upright and turned to go.

"You want to know why I'm really afraid of men?" He froze as her barely heard whisper floated through the air. He turned back, and saw her staring up at him, olive skinned face barely visible through her black hair. He nodded.

She closed her eyes. There was silence for a moment. John was about to say something when something hit him in the face. He stepped back, then realised that it was something she had put into his head.

"Close your eyes." Vincent instructed.

He sat beside her on the floor and did what he was told. Suddenly, the images were there.

_An older girl pushed him out of the way of a raging man, taking the hit herself. There was a flash of light and the man was dead on the floor, the girl over him with a knife. Blood dripped off her hand. She dropped the knife and grabbed him, running. He was dragged into a black van. He could hear screams. They were both sitting on the floor of a cell. He ached between his legs. The door opened, and the older girl was dragged out by her hair. The older girl's face covered in blood. Screams echoing. A naked older man approaching, grinning. A pregnancy test showing positive. Blood covered a bathroom. Sudden light. The older girl running with him. Being dragged backwards. Someone had his hair, forcing him to watch as the older girl was raped and murdered. The words "You're next." Flames, crawling everwhere. Bodies burning. A man backing away. A building burning. Running through streets. Sitting and waiting for the next blow to fall-_

"STOP IT!" John screamed. His eyes flew open and the images disappeared. He turned to look at Vincent.

She smiled at him. "Now you know..." She whispered. Her eyes closed and she slumped over, unconscious. John, nervous, slipped his arms under her and lifted. It was ridiculously easy. He slid her onto his lap and placed his arms around her as he shouted for Bobby, Piotr, anyone. Even as he waited, he noted how the girl's body fit so well against his. His eyes slid closed.

----

When Piotr and Bobby arrived, followed by the teachers, they found John against the wall, unconscious, with Vincent across his lap, encircled by his arms, also unconscious, her face sallow.

"Piotr, Logan. Take them to their rooms." Storm ordered.

Piotr bent down, trying to lift Vincent out of John's arms. However, John's grip only tightened. Piotr looked up at Storm and shook his head. Storm sighed.

"Take them to her room then."

Piotr nodded and lifted both of them easily. He carried them to Vincent's room, followed by Bobby and Rogue, who had followed them. Through it all, John's arms stayed around Vincent.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

**Author's note:**

Wow, I really need a life. Hope you enjoyed this. I put it up early, and I don't have anymore written right now. Hopefully, more'll be up soon. Please review. What did you think? Got any ideas? Yes, I know it's weird that a girl has a guy's name. However, the story will get weirder. If possible. It is rather pointless...meh. Tell me what you think of it, how i can change the characters to be more like they are...you know the drill. Thanks for reading!


	2. Chapter 2

I'm technically supposed to be writing a chapter for one of my other stories...but I had an idea. And it sat by my leg and begged for me to put it in writing. You know how they are. You just can't say no... And yes, in the last chapter, I was cruel. I used American pronouciation. Please forgive me. Yes, John's name is St.John, but it's pronouced SinJin. Not Saint John. But I couldn't help myself...sob I hate America. It's influencing me from across the border. shudder

**Chapter 2**

When Vincent woke up the next morning, the first thing she noticed was that she was warm. Warmer than normal. As a pyrokinetic, she was always warmer than usual. But this was a different kind of warm. The second thing she noticed was the arm around her waist. She froze. She felt warm air, _breath_, drift past her face. She peered sleepily around the room, recognizing it as her room in Xaviers. What the fuck was she doing at Xaviers with someone else in bed with her? She wracked her brain.

"Oh, no. Oh, no oh no oh no oh no. I did _not_ project memories. Oh no. Please no. Please, please no. Not to John. Not to _him._ No."

"But," A slurred voice mumbled. "You did."

Vincent almost screamed. "You! Out! Get out! Out! What the hell are you doing in my fucking rooms? Get the fuck out! Why are you on my bed? _In_ my bed? Get OUT!"

She grabbed the arm around her waist and flung it off of her. John sat up slowly as she threw herself across the room, dismayed to find herself dressed only in a black tanktop and shorts (Think Jean in X3). She glared at him as he lazily stretched. He raised an eyebrow.

"You should dress like that more often."

He waited for her to send something back at him as he gazed around. But she didn't say anything. He looked at her. She was pressed against the wall, a sheet wrapped securely about her, staring at him like he was a demon. Her normally olive face was dangerously pale, and a flame danced around her fingertips. The black hair that was only now regaining any shine was wild from sleep. Combined, it made her look scary. He carefully raised his hands into view.

"Look," He said slowly, "I'm not gonna hurt you." Keeping his hands in view, he stood, and walked toward her, pushing on the flame with his power, dampening it. Vincent stared at her hand as the flames shrunk, her eyes wide. She was close enough to touch now. He put his hands on her shoulders and tipped her head to look at him.

"I'm sorry. I know what you went through now-" Vincent's hands pushed him away.

"You know what I went through? You don't know the half of it! You saw some people die! You saw me get raped! But do you _know_ what it's like to go through that? To finally get freedom at the cost of your sister's life? To find out that while you're living on the streets, barely alive, that you're supporting something else? Do you _know what it's like to be a pregnant twelve year old homeless girl?_ Have you ever had to make the choice to try to abort a baby that'll never live a week in the world you're living in? HAVE YOU EVER BEEN FORCED TO WATCH YOUR DREAMS DIE WITH THE BABY YOU'RE RIPPING TO PIECES WITH A RUSTY HANGER IN A PUBLIC RESTROOM?" She was screaming now. John stepped back, his eyes widening.

"Vincent, I'm sorry! I didn't know - "

"Just _get out!_ I don't want to talk to you, or ever see you again, you bastard! Ever so arrogant with your brown hair and eyes, thinking you're so important! Get out!" The room was smoking around him, as fires started all over. The fire alarms were ringing, but John could barely hear them. He was stammering, but he had no idea what he was saying. Vincent stalked toward him, fire running up her arms, twirling through her fingers. "Just get OUT!" She launched a fireball at him. He pressed against it, to no avail. then he tried to absorb it. That worked, but it left a burning feeling up his arm. Already there was another fireball in her hand as she continued toward him.

John did the only thing he could do - he broke and ran. Behind him, the door slammed shut. The firebell was still ringing and the smoke was thickening. John kept running, careening around corners and ignoring the many startled yells that he left in his wake, until he ran around a corner and smack into Logan, who was running in the opposite direction, toward Vincent's room. John ended up on his ass on the floor. Logan hauled him up and slammed him into the wall, pressing his arm against John's throat.

"What happened?" He growled.

John gulped. "She woke up and she flipped out. She's insane!"

Rogue appeared out of nowhere. "Where is she?" She turned to John. "What did you do to her?"

John, gasping under Logans arm, pointed in the general direction of Vincent's room as Storm appeared out of nowhere behind them. "Let him go," She ordered. "We have more important problems!"

Logan scowled. He gave John one last glare then took off after Storm, leaving John to sink down to the floor, choking in an as much air as possible in the smoky corridor.

"John, what are you doing? Let's go!" Bobby's voice broke through the fog in his head. He attempted to push himself up but failed. Bobby grabbed one of his arms and dragged him up, pulling his arm over his shoulder, taking Johns weight and lurching down the hall in the direction of the nearest door. John glanced behind them one last time as they exited the building. The last thing he saw was Logan and Storm disappearing into the smoke. He closed his eyes. He knew that this was his fault.

----

"Vincent, let us in! Please!" Storm called over the crackle of flames. There was no answer.

"Move!" Logan ordered. Storm stepped to the side. Logan stepped forward and kicked in the door. Thick black smoke rolled in a wave into the hallway. Logan peered in.

"Can't see shit all." He reported.

"I'll take care of that." Storm replied. She sent a wind spinning through the room, pushing the smoke out the window. As it cleared, they became aware of Vincent, standing in the center of the room, arms out, head back. She seemed unaware of them as she encouraged the flames, pushing them higher. Storm's eyes flashed white. A cold wind spun through the room, bringing snowflakes with it. The fires dampened as Vincent spun. She glared at them, her eyes glowing an angry red.

"Vincent, stop it!" Storm ordered. For a moment, nothing happened. Then the flames flared highed. The heat wave was intense. Even Logan was loathe to go to the center of that. Then Rogue appeared at the door. She took in the scene before her. Another chill wind swept through the room. For a moment everything was silent. Then Rogue spoke.

"Vincent?"

Vincent's eyes widened and returned to their natural color. "Rogue?" She asked dizzily. The heat disappeared. Rogue ran to her and threw her arms around her.

"You're alright. You're ok. Everything's fine." She rubbed her gloved hand up and down Vincent's bare arm. The girl trembled.

"I'm...sorry..." She gasped. Then she fainted.

----

Logan shoved his way through the crowd of kids standing outside the school, searching for John and Bobby. He found them on the edge of a fountain, John fingering the darkening bruise across his throat.

"Sorry about that, kid."

Both looked up. Logan motioned for them to follow. "We need some help," He explained. "We need John to make sure there aren't any flames still burning. And Bobby, a couple of things we need are too hot to touch. Now move your asses."

Both teenagers pulled themselves upright and followed him back into the mansion.

----

"Nothing." John said, reaching out with his senses. "A few embers, but I put those out."

Bobby stared at a glowing piece of metal, the door knob. He could feel the heat, pulsing in waves from it. He reached out and sent a light case of ice over it. The ice melted for a moment. He sent another layer of ice over it. The redhot glow died. He pulled his hand back and looked around the room. All in all, for the amount of smoke, there wasn't much damage. The walls were smoke streaked and charred near the bottom. The bed was gone, as was the carpet. The bathroom was untouched, as were the dresser and desk. He couldn't see the closet from here, but he didn't think that there was much in it anyway.

Storm came to stand beside him. "We were lucky," She stated. "We think she was in control at first, just scaring John. But she lost control. It's a good thing Rogue calmed her like she did." Bobby nodded, and looked around at the people in the room with him.

Logan was nowhere to be seen, but John was standing in the middle of the room, turning slowly, examining it. He met Bobby's gaze.

"It's my fault."

"It is not." Storm cut in. "We were afraid this would happen. We need to have a serious talk with Vincent, find out what her past was like."

"It was bad." John replied, still turning. "She was young when she was first raped. Around seven or eight. From what I gathered, it went on for years. She had her older sister with her, but after a failed escape attempt from where ever they were held, around when she was eleven or twelve, her sister was murdered infront of her. Brutually. I think that was when she first discovered her powers. She burned the place to the ground, and almost everyone in it." He shook his head. "She was living on the streets for a while, then became aware that she was pregnant." His voice was thick. Storm's eyes were filling up. "She aborted it herself. With a rusty hanger in a public bathroom. I think she damaged herself pretty bad. Even my childhood wasn't that fucked up."

Bobby looked like he was going to cry. Storm was crying. Logan had appeared from somewhere. His presence was angry. John turned around.

"This is my fault. I pushed her to this. I caused this."

----

**Authors Note:**

Thanks again for reading. I'll hopefully get more ideas and update soon. Don't be afraid to ridicule me if I screw up. And yes, I know, the name sucks. I'm trying to think of a better one. Suggestions appreciated. Please review.


	3. Chapter 3

So, the last chapter was short. Usually I try not to post anything under 2000 words. I liked setting the mansion on fire, but I guess it happens a lot with John around. BTW, I'm a total Pyro fangirl. Oh, and the song in chapter 1 was Iris by the Goo Goo Dolls. I think it's the perfect Pyro theme song. It does kinda fit Rogue too, but I hate Rogue, so meh. Also, if I spell something wrong, please tell me. I hate spelling stuff wrong. Wow, I sound like a stuck up bitch...

Thanks go out to SweetRevengeful-aka-lamika, Ratdogtwo and Something Not So Normal for being my first reviewers and for just being awesome people. I mean, they must be. They read my story right? AND they reviewed. Applause please. Oh, and thanks especially to Sweet-Revengeful-aka-lamika for giving me the new name! Which I love! Thank-ee kindly. I'd say thanks to Rinjii, but we had a long discussion on the bus to school, and I don't think she deserves it. :)

**Chapter 3**

Almost five days after the fire, Vincent was still holed up in her room, refusing to see anyone. She had tried to leave the mansion three times, only to be grabbed by Logan mere feet from the door and carted back to her room. She didn't understand why. After all, everything she had tried to take she had owned when she got here, and she _had_ almost burnt the mansion to the ground. On her first trip back to her room over Logan's shoulder, she had tried to explain why she was leaving in between her attempted escape attempts. That had been ignored. She had also been informed by Storm and Wolverine both that until she had somewhere to go, they could not allow her to leave the mansion, as much as she may want to. Though she had been terrified of Logan at first, she had sensed the protectiveness rolling of off him in waves whenever he was near either herself or Rogue, and that comforted her.

On her few forays out of her room, usually in the middle of the night, when she went to get food to eat during the next day, she had avoided everyone. While she had a feeling that Xavier always knew where she was and why, and he occasionally projected thoughts to her, she managed to get around the mansion without having to deal with anyone. She avoided everyone, but mostly John. Vincent hated him more than ever now. Not only did he look so familiar, but he was so arrogant. She knew she had scared him when she lost control, but she'd also projected to him. Now he knew. And so did Storm, and Logan, and Bobby. She wasn't sure about anyone else, but she didn't want to discuss her childhood with anyone, not even them, and especially not John. Waking up like that had sent her into a state of mind that she didn't like to be in. It brought back memories of being enclosed in cells by a man that looked uncannily like him, though John was much smaller than the man she remembered.

Tonight, while she was on her way to the kitchen to scrounge some food, she heard something. Voices. Familiar voices. She crept closer to the open door. It was close to 1am, so presumably Bobby, John, Logan and Storm thought everyone was asleep. She pressed against the wall.

"No one's seen her in almost a week. Is she ever planning on coming out of that room?" She heard Bobby say.

"I don't think so." Storm replied wearily. Logan hummed in agreement.

"This is my fault." John stated. "I had to push. I'm an idiot. I knew she wouldn't take well to it, but I just couldn't stop needling her. I hate mysteries almost as much as I hate the cold."

"Maybe we should send Rogue in there?" Bobby suggested.

"Nah." Logan replied. "I think she'll tell us eventually." Vincent frowned. His voice seemed closer... She yelped as his arm flashed into the hall and grabbed her wrist. Before she could do more, she was in the room with them, and the door was closed behind her. Logan wrapped an arm around her waist to keep her from bolting. Storm, Bobby and John all stared. Vincent glared at John until he looked away, embarrassed. She twisted to look at Logan. He grinned down at her. "Sorry, kid. But you hafta tell someone sometime."

She sighed. Logan guided her to the couch and sat beside her, arm still around her waist. She leaned into him and closed her eyes. When she opened them, everyone was staring at her expectantly. Everyone except John, who was studying the curtains so intently that it looked like he was going to set them on fire. She wished the bastard would. Maybe she could escape if everyone was distracted. She considered setting them on fire for him, but a warning sqeeze from Logan warned her that he knew exactly what she was thinking. Storm eyed her. "Don't try it." She advised. Vincent looked away.

Bobby and Wolverine both looked at her. "Talk. Now." Logan advised. "Or I may be forced to stick you back in your room with John for a week."

Vincent winced. Since it was obvious that they weren't going to let her go, and she wouldn't put it past Logan to so exactly that, she began to talk.

"I was born in a big house to a big family. We were rich. Very rich. However, my parents were old fashioned, believing in arranged marriages and all that. They also hated mutants. My older siblings looked after me most of the time. I didn't really see my parents much. That was probably a good thing. It meant that I survived longer in that world. However, by the time I was five, it was apparent that I was a mutant. I'd always been fascinated with fire. By the time my sister left and took me with her, I could project pictures into flames and manipulate them however I wanted. Back then, I couldn't create fire..." Her voice went dreamy, and her eyes glazed over.

"When I turned six, my parents spent the day with me as a gift, doing things you'd normally do with a six year old girl. The day went fine, until the decided to go to a candlelit restaurant for supper. We had only been in their for minutes when I started showing off. My parents were horrified. They dragged me home and locked me in a room. My sister, who was fifteen at the time, heard them talking about an acquaintance of my father's named William Stryker. Apparently, he was doing tests on mutants. My parents figured that this would probably be a safe way to get rid of me. My sister, Charlotte, decided to run. She packed everything she could and left, taking me with her. We lived on the streets for a year, selling off bits of jewelry that she'd taken with her when we needed money. We never stopped moving. I was just past the age of seven when we stopped in Manhattan for a day in a park. I'd wandered away a bit, farther into the park. Charlotte came after me. That's when they got us. They're always around. They find little children and young people by themselves or left unattended and steal them. Usually, the kids go into a child prostitution ring. I don't know what happens to the others, but I never felt the need to find out. Me and Charlotte were brought into a ring run by a big man who called himself 'Cutter'. He'd make you repeat it over and over. 'I'm Cutters girl. I'm Cutters girl.' I was of a good size for all those sick bastards out there who like children, and Charlotte was perfect. The olive skin, the perfect brown and green eyes, the angled face. We'd only been in the place a few hours and Cutter'd already made a fair amount off us, selling Char as a virgin. Cause all big men love virgin girls. He gave me to a random man that came in off the street and put us in a room together. I was so young then, I didn't know what was going on. That didn't last long. He raped me. No qualms about it. He just had his fun and left. It was the same for every man that came through. I was there till I was almost twelve. Charlotte started to make contacts. She put everything she had into it, and it worked. We finally had enough influence to get us out. We'd been free all of five seconds when it became apparent that we'd been betrayed. We were dragged back in. They made me watch what the did to Charlotte, since she'd been the one that had done all the work. They - " Her voice cracked.

"They raped her. For hours. Then they tortured her. When they finally killed her, she was barely recognizable. The whole time she'd been screaming, I'd been trying to free her, projecting images as fast as I could. But back then, I was small and I could only influence one person at a time, not whole groups. So that didn't work. They just hit me and told me how much fun they would have doing that to me. They were actually dragging me to the table when I snapped. The whole place went up in flames. I fried the lot of them. But I was in enough of a mind to remember that there were others like me and Charlotte still in the building, so I got them out. Cutter was with one of the girls when I let her out. Him, I tortured before I let him die. Then I was on the streets, just another rat in Manhattan. No one noticed. I stayed in a few homeless shelters, but never for long. The people who hadn't been in the building at the time I burned it were looking for me, so I kept moving. Then, about three months after I escaped, I started getting sick. But only in the mornings. I would spend hours puking up whatever I had in my stomach during the morning, then be fine all the rest of the day. Then it would start again the next day. It didn't take me long to figure it out. I may have been 12, but I wasn't stupid. So I faced the hardest descision yet. Try to carry the baby to full term and give it to an orphanage? I didn't think that would work. I'd probably die on the streets, and take the baby with me. So I made the descision to abort. Only, I couldn't afford it, and you have to pay the blackmarket 'doctors' some how. Usually with sex, and I wasn't going to do that. So I used a hanger and did it myself. In the bathroom of a hardware store. I almost died from blood loss, and I'll never be able to have children. I destroyed all of that stuff."

She took a deep breath, pressing into Logan's side. "Some woman found me in the bathroom and called an ambulance. Before I knew it, I was in a clinic somewhere with people asking me who I was, what had happened, where my parents were. I never told them. Never felt the need to. I didn't consider them my parents anymore. So they put me in a ward for the mental. And I mean mental. Had padded rooms and everything. I had daily sessions with a therapist that I never said a word too, and I spent all my time looking for a way out for the first few months. Then it occurred to me. No one would ever find me here. But, because I had nothing to do, I got bored easily. The people at the clinic began to suspect that I was a mutant. And by then, I could control my power well enough to tell what was going on. By the time I'd been there for a year, I could hear them talking about sending me to William Stryker, the man Charlotte had told me my parents had wanted to give me to. So I busted out of there. Then I was back on the streets again. Because of my powers, which, by the way, are fire starting, projecting and minor telepathy, I kept myself out of bad situations and I got work in a small shop. For my work, I got food and board. I worked there for about four years. Then Cutters old gang found me. I tried to run for it, but I got caught in a building. I took that one down too. That's when Storm and the professor picked me up." Her eyes had closed. She opened them as she felt an arm slide around her shoulders. Bobby and Storm hugged her. John just stared. Vincent looked away from him. She stood unsteadily. Bobby and Logan steadied her.

"I'll be in class tomorrow." She told Storm. "But I think I'll go to bed now."

Storm nodded. Logan swung Vincent up into his arms, bridal style. She didn't protest, just rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. By the time he had maneuvered through the doorway with her, she was sound asleep. Storm followed him up to her bedroom, where she changed the girl into clothes more appropriate for sleep and tucked the blankets in around her. Logan pressed a kiss onto her forehead and left the room. Storm followed, passing Bobby and John on the way out. Bobby stared into the room for a moment, then headed towards his and John's shared room. John stayed for a while longer, before he pulled the door shut and staggered back to his room, exhausted.

----

The next morning, John woke up to something bouncing on his bed. He groaned and cracked an eyelid. It was Rogue. He closed his eyes again, hoping it was just a bad dream. Then it clicked. Rogue was jumping on his bed, where he was lying in just a set of boxers. His eyes flew open and he yanked his blankets up higher.

"What the hell are you doing?! What time is it?"

Rogue grinned, still bouncing. Bobby laughed from his side of the room, where he was pulling his sneakers on.

"She caaaaame out!" Rogue sang. "She's coming out of her roooooom!"

John groaned and flipped onto his stomach. "I don't care." He muttered. "Let me sleep."

Bobby grinned, enjoying this. "Sorry man. We gotta be in class in ten - no wait, seven - minutes."

John sat up. "You're fucking kidding."

Rogue jumped up. "Sorry, John. No dice."

John groaned and flopped back over his pillows, closing his eyes. Bobby pushed a stream of freezing air and snow at him on his way out. The following scream of anger echoed down the halls. There was silence for a second.

"Allerdyce!" Scott's voice yelled.

John groaned. Bad day.

----

Vincent pulled her long hair back into a ponytail. She'd meant to cut it, but had never gotten around to it. Rogue refused to hear anything of the sort, insisting that it was too pretty to be cut. She looked around her room, taking in the places where the walls had been repainted over scorch marks, the new carpet and bed. All in all, she hadn't done too much to the room. There was a knock on the door.

"I'm coming in, whether you like it or not!" Rogue called, and pushed open the door. Vincent turned from where she stood, fixing her bangs in the mirror, so that they flopped across one gold eye.

"Hey."

"Hey."

"Logan told me that you're coming to classes today."

Vincent nodded. "That's the plan."

Rogue eyed her for a moment. "Good. Let's go. The ferals are outside the door." The ferals was the name the girls in the six-click called the boys in the six-click.

Vincent cocked her head. "All of them?"

Rogue smiled. "Yup, all of them. But John is cowering behind Pete."

Vincent grinned, and tugged her shirt into place. The shirt had originally belonged to Rogue, though it was too small for her now. It's deep blue color and v-neck and collar went well with the pale, loose cargo style jeans that had once belonged to John, belted tightly at the waist. Even if John was small for a guy, he was still broader than a slim latina. She looked herself over in the mirror once more, and tugged her ponytail, which hung to just above her waist. "I suppose I'm as ready as I'll ever be."

Rogue reached over and patted her shoulder with a gloved hand, then tugged her out the door. Vincent sighed. Through it all, Rogue never changed. She was as pushy as ever.

----

**Authors's note:**

I know this one was short too. Sorry. I kinda hit writers block. And I have exams starting tomorrow, so don't expect anything for a while, k? Please review. Cause if you do I'll love you forever. Thanks.


	4. Chapter 4

Well...so...yeah. Ok, the last one was short too, but I hit writers block. And it was taking too long. So I posted it as it was. Hope you enjoyed it. Yeah...This is me making small talk. Yupyup. Uh huh. Alright. Let's start chapter three shall we? Yes, I think that that's a good idea...This chapter follows part of the plot in X2. There may be another that follows X3 later on. Until then, it's all mine. I'm assuming that you've all seen X2, so I'm not going into detail here...If not, you may want to conside it, since I'm not going into detail.

Oh! Thanks to SweetRevengeful-aka-lamika, Ratdogtwo, Something Not So Normal and Rinjii Rasheru for reviewing. There, Rinj. You were mentioned!

**Chapter 4**

After that day, Vincent never spoke of her past again. For the first couple of months, her life at Xaviers was great. Then it started to go downhill. Vincent started to find herself disliking Rogue more and more everyday. At the beginning, she and Rogue had been great friends. Then they started to find that small habits started to wear on eachother, and they grew apart. Rogue began to spend more and more time with Kitty and Jubilee. Vincent spent more and more time with Bobby, Piotr and John. Soon she was best friends with Bobby. John spent most of his time with them. While Vincent still disliked him, she knew how he felt and kept herself in check while he was around. Soon the six-click was neatly split in half. Then Rogue started to blame Vincent for it.

----

After six months of only seeing Bobby at night, Rogue started to get tired of the fact that she never saw her boyfriend. After thinking about it for a while, she decided it was Vincent's fault. If the girl had never come here, Bobby would be spending more time with Rogue. It was a saturday, and Rogue was in her room, lying on her bed. Kitty had a headache and had gone to bed. Jubilee was somewhere in the rec room. Down the hall, Vincent's door was open. Rogue could hear the laughter floating down the hallway. Something in her snapped. She flipped herself upright and flung her door open. As she stormed down the hall toward Vincent's room, she dragged off one of her elbow high gloves. Students backed out of her way.

She stopped at the door and looked in, eyes smoldering. John and Piotr were having an arm wrestling match on Vincent's desk. Bobby and Vincent were playing video games on a portable tv that Xavier had allowed Vincent to buy. Rogue took in Vincent's laughing face and Bobby's grin as they shouted good natured abuse to eachother. With a growl, she yanked off her other glove and threw them both to the floor. Vincent turned, then stood as Rogue stomped toward her. One look at Rogue's face told her that this wasn't a good thing. She backed off a bit, and threw her hand out sideways. Fire raced up her arm, and engulfed her hand. Rogue barely paused.

"You!" She screamed, and lunged. Vincent dodged. "It's your fault!" Bobby stood too.

"Rogue! Rogue, stop!"

Rogue lunged at Vincent again. Vincent parried with her sleeve covered arm. "No, Bobby! I won't stop! That's all you ever say, isn't it? 'Rogue, stop this! Rogue, stop that!It's not Vincent's fault!' Well, it _is!_ It's her fault that I never see my boyfriend! It's her fault that my friends are divided! It's her fault that I never see any of you anymore! It's her fault that I'm always alone!"

Bobby was speechless. Rogue threw a punch at Vincent. She ducked, and darted to the side. Rogue followed her. "I'll show you all! I'll show you that it's her fault! Stupid little _slut! Whore!_"

Vincent's face went dark. For a moment, she froze. Then the room started to heat up. Piotr and John were pressed against the wall on the other side of the bed. Bobby stepped in between the two girls. "Wait, guys, for a minute! Let's talk this out-"

Rogue tried to elbow past him. "No, Bobby! I'm sick of trying to talk to you! Let's finish this now!" She threw herself at Vincent. Bobby grabbed her and spun her into his chest. Rogue reached up and grabbed his face. Almost immediately, Bobby's normally pale skin went grey. He sank towards the floor. Rogue let him go and turned to face Vincent, an iceball growing in her hand. Vincent responded, stepping forward. Piotr took a chance and dove for Bobby, pulling the limp boy over the bed. John was already gone, running through the halls, yelling for Storm, for Logan, Cyclops, anyone.

Rogue smiled, her face almost demonic looking in the flickering light being thrown off by Vincent. "Go time, _bitch._"

"If you want it that way." Vincent responded. Then, before Rogue could react, she darted forward. Her flaming hand came up and pressed itself into Rogue's face. There was a sizzling sound and Rogue screamed. Vincent pulled away, but not fast enough. Rogue grabbed her throat, pushing them both over onto the bed, Rogue on top. Vincent could feel her power being pulled. With a yell, she brought her feet up and kicked Rogue as hard as she could in the stomach. The girl flew across the small space and slammed into the wall on the other side, sliding down into a pile on the floor. Vincent sat up, gasping. Then Logan entered the room, followed by Storm and Cyclops.

"Enough!"

----

The two girls hadn't been seen in weeks. The word was that Rogue was in the med lab downstairs, along with Vincent. No one really knew for sure, except for the teachers, Bobby, John and Piotr. The first refused to answer questions, and the others were sworn to silence. Life at the mansion went on.

----

Rogue had a scar in the shape of a hand across her face. Logan had allowed her to pull some of his power, but not enough to heal it completely. He said that as much as he loved her, this was something she needed to remember, and if that was what it took, so be it. While in the med lab, she was forced to wear a shirt with gloves attached. To get it off, someone else had to unhook it for her. She was still in a state of delirium.

Vincent was in a seperate room, kept asleep by Xavier himself. Her powers weren't as easy as Rogue's to incapacitate. Unlike John, she didn't need a lighter. And even if she did, she could still project things into others minds, and read them as well. The only option was to keep her asleep until she was ready to be woken. This was quickly becoming priority, as Vincent's body grew unbearably warm every time someone approached her with a needle, so she wasn't on an IV, and therefore wasn't getting food, though John was able to force water into her body three times daily. The two girls were kept seperate, and Rogue was locked in her room when no one could stay with her. Vincent was considered safe to leave in an unlocked room. That was a mistake.

----

She had been fighting with the professor for control since he'd put her under. After a few weeks of letting her power grow, she waited until his power weakened. It happened the same night that Stryker attacked the mansion. Rogue had been let out ages ago, her scar barely visible, her mental state returned to normal. Vincent felt Xaviers power weaken and disappear. She sat up and looked around. She recognized this place. This was the first place they'd taken her when she'd arrived, in the basement. She stood ensteadily and staggered to the door. No one was around. She was getting out of here.

----

The first thing she noticed when she reached the first floor was the silence. Then footsteps, coming behind her. She turned to find a dark clothed man with a gun leveled at her at the same moment that Siren began to scream. Moments later, she walked away. Wind streaming through an open window swept away the smell of burning meat and the ashes that were all that was left of the man.

She proceeded up the stairs, incinerating men as she went. She passed through a crowd of children, her powers allowing her to go unnoticed, though she stopped to close the door of the escape tunnel behind them. She had reached the fourth floor when she heard a minor explosion, Rogue scream, and glass shatter. Then Bobby, John and Rogue barreled around the corner and straight into her. "Whoa." She steadied Bobby. "What's happening?"

Bobby stared at her, mouth open. "Bobby!"

He shook his head. "I don't know!"

Vincent let him go. John grabbed her arm. "Come on!" They took off down the corridor, dragging Vincent with them.

"Freeze." Four men leveled their guns at them as they reached the foyer. They stopped. Vincent stepped forward. There was a yell as Logan launched himself into the middle of the men. In seconds, they were dead. "Let's go." Logan headed toward the front door. It flew open before the reached it. Through it, they could see a helicopter hovering, and more men advancing. "This way!" They followed him down the hallway. As they filed into the escape tunnels, Logan closed it behind them. Rogue stopped.

"Guys, we have to help him. They're gonna kill him!"

"He can handle himself!" John responded.

"Bobby!" Rogue pleaded. Vincent snorted. Rogue shot her a glare, then headed back to the entrance. Bobby followed. Vincent kept walking, passing John as he stood in indescision. Moments later, the others caught up with her. Logan swung her into his arms as they passed.

A few minutes later, Cyclops' car peeled out of the garage with all of them inside.

"What was that back there?" John demanded.

"Stryker. His name is Stryker." Logan responded. Vincent stiffened. Bobby and John, whom she was crammed in between, both looked at her.

"Yes, Vincent. I think this is the same man." Logan answered her unspoken question.

"Where're we going?"

"Storm and Jean are in Boston. We'll head that way."

Bobby looked up. "My parents live in Boston."

"Good."

----

"Mom? Dad? Ronny?" There was no answer. They followed Bobby into the house.

"I'll get you some clothes." Bobby told Rogue. Then he turned to face Vincent, who hadn't said a word since they ran into her in the mansion. "I'm sorry, but I don't think that there's anything that'll fit you. I'll look." Vincent shook her head.

Bobby followed Rogue up the stairs. "Don't burn anything." He said over his shoulder. The two pyrokinetics glared at him. Vincent went and sat in the living room. John followed her. Logan headed into the kitchen to look for something to drink.

Vincent sat with her eyes closed while John looked at the pictures around the room. Seconds later, the door to the expensive house opened. Voices echoed down the hall. Vincent smiled, her eyes still firmly shut, as she listened to Bobby explain.

----

Ronny was staring at her again. Vincent could feel him. She had cracked her eyelids when the family entered the room, but had shut them again just as quickly. She set her head on John's shoulder when he sat beside her, monitoring the thoughts of the people in the room, smiling at Logan's flat tone when Bobby's parents asked what he taught. But, boy, did that stare get annoying. He was checking her out, dressed as she was in only the med lab female patients clothes, a tank top and spandex shorts. She opened her eyes and met his stare. He blushed and looked at Bobby. She felt his disgust for Bobby when he showed his parents what he could do. And she also felt his intentions when he stormed upstairs. She let him go. These people weren't her friends anymore. She liked John more than ever before after she felt his immense hatred for Rogue, which now matched her own. She also echoed his feeling of getting away from them as soon as possible.

She felt the police coming long before they arrived. When Logan entered the room and told them that they were leaving, she dragged herself up off the couch and followed. She felt a little remorse when one policeman shot Logan in the head, but it wasn't enough to make her move to help the others with her. When John reacted, she strengthened his response, pushing the fire farther, making it burn hotter. She let it go when Rogue grabbed John's ankle. She didn't really care what happened. If the police died, big deal. They knew their job was dangerous when they went to the police academy. Plus, she knew they were all alive anyway. She sighed as she followed the others onto the jet. She, like Bobby, turned once more in yard to look up at the house. Bobby's family was standing in an upstairs window. She sent a vision to them all, and felt their fear in her head. Maybe now they would know not to mess with mutants. She blew a sarcastic kiss to them all, then boarded the jet.

----

On the jet, she had fun playing with Rogue's head. She planted double vision in her mind, screwing the girl up as she tried to hook her harness. When the government jets sent missiles after them, she laughed. The back of the jet blew as a missile exploded just behind it. Rogue was sucked out the hole. Kurt, a teleporter that Storm and Jean had picked up, saved her. Vincent sighed. That was no fun.

A few feet from the ground, the jet stopped.

"Jean?" Storm asked.

"It isn't me!" Jean replied.

"No," Vincent said, finally speaking. "It's him." She pointed out the front. Magneto stood on the ground below them, Mystique beside him.

"When will these people learn how to fly?" Vincent heard him ask. 'When indeed?' She thought.

----

That night, Jean tried to talk to her. It didn't help. Vincent was able to block her at every turn, without saying a word. She had never been close to Jean, and she was even less so now that she knew that Jean had been helping the proffessor keep her asleep. Jean soon gave up.

The night was uneventful. Vincent refused to enter the tent that had been designated to her and Rogue, instead sitting up almost the whole night, eavesdropping on the adult's conversation.

----

**Author's Note:**

There. That one was longer, I think. Yes, I know that the Vincent in this one doesn't much seem like the one I was developping in the last two chapters. Here's a kind of explanation: Vincent has a thing against humans anyway, for what they did to her sister and herself. That's the only reason she stayed at Xaviers as long as she did. The reason Vincent and Rogue grew apart was that Rogue was too bossy, and Vincent has major problems with authority, which is why she also doesn't get along with Scott/Cyclops, whom she has joined John in calling Professor Stick-Up-The-Ass. Rogue started to find it annoying how she couldn't push Vincent around so much after she got used to living at Xaviers. Several small fights ensued, all of which ended with Jubilee and Kitty siding with Rogue. So that's why she doesn't get along with them either. Feel free to ask questions, and review. I even accept flamers, but be assured that I don't thank you for them. Thanks for reading!


	5. Chapter 5

So, hey. hi. What's new? That's nice...anyway, I got's reviews now. More than before. Thanks to everyone for reviewing for me. Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Thanks go out to: Ratdogtwo, SweetRevengeful-aka-lamika, icydragon14, and Raynaldo's Fiance.

Here's chapter 5, where the plotless and pointless story continues on...

**Chapter 5**

Life was very music orientated for Vincent. No matter where she went, she always had an ipod or MP3 player near her. While she had been in the med lab, however, she had not had an ipod, and hadn't had a chance to grab it while still in the mansion. She missed the oblivion it gave her. Now she not only had to listen to what people were thinking, she had to listen to what they were actually saying. She sighed as she listened to Scott (or Stick-Up-The-Ass to herself and John) mentally rail against Magneto to Jean, who was attempting to ignore him. What she wouldn't give for an ipod. She leaned her head back against the wall of the jet, where she was sitting, stretched out across the seats across from Magneto, eyes closed. She had pulled on a pair of sweatpants from the jet's storage compartment. They weren't exactly stylish, but the were comfortable and warm, and, so far as she could tell, clean.

_Did you ever hear what I told you?  
Did you ever read what I wrote you?  
Did you ever listen to what we played?  
Did you ever let in what the world said?  
Did we get this far just to feel your hate?  
Did we play to become only pawns in the game?  
How blind can you be, don't you see?  
You chose the long road, but we'll be waiting_

Bye bye, beautiful...

She tapped her foot to the beat in her mind.

"How come we don't get uniforms?" She heard Rogue ask.

"Yeah, where's ours?" Bobby echoed.

"They're on order." Logan replied. "The should arrive in a couple of years." Vincent smiled. Magneto laughed quietly at something Mystique whispered to him. Vincent opened her eyes to watch Rogue as the girl turned to face them.

"We love what you've done with your hair." Magneto said mockingly. Rogue took a step forward, pulling at her glove. Vincent felt worry flash in Magneto's mind before Bobby grabbed the girl. He may bluster all he liked, but Magneto knew Rogue was no Logan, with convenient metal covered bones. There was a possibilty that Rogue could do Magneto enormous harm before he could do anything about it. Bobby pulled the girl through to the front half of the jet. Vincent smiled and closed her eyes again. John looked at from Magneto from his spot a few seats away, where he had been watching Vincent and everyone else alternately.

"So, they say you're the bad guy." He flicked his lighter open.

"Is that what they say?" Magneto responded. John nodded. Magneto reached his hand out, and pulled the lit lighter to his hand. John sat up. He didn't like it when other people touched his lighter.

"What's your name?" Magneto asked.

"John." John replied, eyes still on his lighter.

Magneto smirked. "What's your real name, John?"

John's eyes flicked to the older man's face for a second. Seemingly finding what he wanted there, he pulled the flame from the lighter to his hand. "Pyro."

"That's an interesting talent you have there, Pyro."

John flicked his hand and the flame went out. "I can only manipulate the fire." He replied. "Can't create it."

Magneto regarded him solemnly. "You are a god among insects." He informed him. "Never let anyone tell you different."

Vincent snorted, eyes still closed. Magneto turned his attention to her. "And what can you do?" Vincent held her hand out, without opening her eyes, and snapped her fingers. Flame leaped up, curled around her arm, then disappeared.

"Ah. Another pyrokinetic." Magneto said aloud.

"Not that easy." Vincent replied. Magneto looked at her. Vincent turned her eyes to Mystique. "No, John and I are not dating. Feel free to try and get into his pants." She informed her. Mystique had the sense to try and look affronted. John looked disgusted. Magneto nodded, looking at Vincent calculatingly. "Is that all?" He asked.

Vincent shook her head. There was a braying noise. Magneto (who wasn't wearing his helmet), Mystique and John all looked up in time to see an elephant walk through the jet and disappear into the back wall. They stared at the spot it had disappeared into, then, one at a time, turned to look at her. Vincent closed her eyes and put her head back against the wall. That would give the old man something to think about. She began to tap her foot again.

_Jacobs ghost for the girl in white  
Blindfold for the blind  
Dead Siblings walking the dying Earth_

Noose around a choking heart  
Eternity torn apart  
Slow toll now the funeral bells

"I need to die to feel alive"

Bye bye, beautiful...

_----_

John stared at Vincent for a moment, shook his head, and reverted to fiddling with his lighter. Magneto watched the girl for a moment and returned to making plans with Mystique, glancing at Vincent every few sentences. She continued to tap her foot to a song no one else could hear. After a few seconds, she began humming. John listened for a second.

"Is that Nightwish?" He asked finally. Vincent nodded.

"Bye bye beautiful?" Another nod.

"Ah. Good taste." This time there was no reaction. John snapped his lighter shut and went to the front of the jet. He returned a moment later. "We'll be at Alkali Lake in a few minutes."

----

The adults had barely been gone from the jet for five minutes before Vincent stood. She looked at the others. Bobby and Rogue were in the cockpit, staring out at the snow. John was once again flicking his lighter. She turned, and grabbed a jacket from one of the holding spaces. She was pretty sure it was Logans. It smelled like him anyway. She sniffed the collar. Definitely Logan, and a bit of...Scott? There was something she hadn't picked up before. She grinned, and pulled the coat snugly around her. The three others looked at her.

"What are you doing?" Rogue demanded. Vincent gave her an innocent look. "Who, me? Nothing." She stalked forward and smacked the button that opened the ramp.

"Vincent, they told us to stay here." Rogue whined.

"You always do what you're told?" John asked, looking at her. Rogue glared at him. Vincent went down the ramp. Bobby stared after her while the other two bickered. He had one of those feelings that the girl wasn't coming back. Silence fell. After a minute, John spoke.

"I'm going after her."

Rogue opened her mouth to say something, but shut it again at the look John sent her way. He grabbed a sweater from the same storage cabinet and dragged it on, before descending the ramp.

Bobby watched him go. Rogue was whining about how they were all going to get in trouble when the adults returned. He looked at her. The girl studied his face. "What is it?" She asked.

Bobby shook is head. "Neither of them has any plans of coming back." He replied. Rogue set her jaw.

----

**Authors Note:** Mystique got into the dam as Logan and opened the spillway. Kurt and Storm go after the children that Stryker has captive. Logan goes off on his own to try and find answers about his past. Jean, Magneto and Mystique go to stop the new Cerebro that Stryker built. They encounter a controlled Scott along the way, and Jean stays back to fight him. She manages to wake him up, cracking the dam in the process, and they begin to head for the Cerebro chamber. Halfway there, the attack on mutants begins.

----

God, it was cold. She hated the cold. Snow was an abomination. She'd be happy to go live in Florida and never see another speck of snow again. She tramped her way through the hated stuff, heading for a helicopter she had glimpsed when they landed. She hadn't gone very far when she felt John coming up behind her. She turned. "What are you doing?" She asked.

John looked at her. "I'm coming with you." He replied.

Vincent studied his face. "Why?"

"I hate it at Xaviers. I hate feeling controlled. And Xavier has always controlled me. I've wanted out for a while. Besides, another minute of Rogue and Bobby mooning over eachother and I'd have incinerated the bitch."

Vincent smiled. "Good enough."

She continued walking, John beside her. They hadn't gone far when it hit them. A screeching noise in their heads, accompanied by incredible pain. John collapsed on the ground, writhing. Vincent's knees gave out. She fell forward onto the ground beside John. Even through the pain, the boy reached out and wrapped his arms around her. Vincent gripped back, shuddering and twisting. Just as suddenly as it started, the sound stopped. Both gasped for breath.

"What was that?" John demanded.

"That," Vincent responded, "was Cerebro. We have to hurry."

The two stumbled on through the snow.

----

Back on the jet, Bobby and Rogue released their hands, both shuddering with memories of the pain that had hit them. Bobby helped the girl to her feet. She hugged him. They stood like that for a long time. Finally, they made their way to the cockpit.

"Oh God." Bobby whispered. "It's cracked." He stared in horror out at the dam. Water was beginning to push through. "Rogue, we've got to move the jet. You've had flying lessons at the mansion."

Rogue stared at him in horror. "Not that many! Bobby, I'll probably crash it!"

Bobby grabbed her by the chin. "Rogue, listen to me! This is our only chance! They can't get out the spillway! They won't make it!" He stared straight into her eyes. Finally, the girl nodded. "Strap yourself in." She advised.

----

**Author's note: Magneto reverses Cerebro, so it targets humans. Logan encounters another of Stryker's creations in the lab where he was "made". He manages to stop her, and follows Stryker to the helicopter, where they are when Cerebro begins targeting humans. He chains him there, but Magneto moves him to a wall and chains him there to die when the damn breaks. Storm gets Kurt to teleport them both into Cerebro, where she manages to wake the professor up. The bitch (Rogue), pilots the jet over a stand of trees and almost kills them all when Logan shows them the way out that Stryker used.**

----

The helicopter was started, it's rotors spinning, when Mystique nudged Magneto. Standing on a bluff, watching, were Vincent and John, supporting eachother. Magneto motioned. The two stumbled to the helicopter and pulled themselves in. Mystique began lift off. Magneto turned to look at the two.

"You are sure of this?" He asked. The two nodded, both meeting his eyes. He studied them. "Then welcome to The Brotherhood." He turned to help Mystique. The helicopter lifted off. John stood, watching the ground below them as they flew off. Vincent sat in one of the seats, shuddering. He turned to look at her. 'We're out.' He thought at her. Vincent met his eyes. "That we are." She responded aloud.

----

**Author's note: Jean stays outside the jet to give the rest time. The dam breaks, and she holds the water seperated from the jet while lifting it in the air. As soon as it's clear she lets the water go, and disappears into it. She is assumed dead. The other X-Men go to the president to give him information and deliver a message to him.**

----

When Vincent woke up, she was in a room she didn't recognize. There were two beds, two dressers, a desk, and an attached bathroom. She was lying on one of the beds. She looked at the other. John lay there, still asleep. Vincent got up to look around. The dressers were filled with clothes, in both hers and John's size. The bathroom was stocked with toothbrushes and soap.

She had very little memory of arriving at the Brotherhood's headquarters. They had ditched the helicopter and driven the rest of the way there. She and John had both fallen asleep. She had a fuzzy memory of being carried into the large house by one of the brotherhood, but she had no memory of this room at all. She was still tired, almost falling with the force of one of the yawns (this possible - I've had it happen). She looked around a moment longer, then staggered back into the main room. She looked over, and there was John. After a moment of deliberation, she crawled into his bed and snuggled up to him, back against his chest, and pulled his arm over her and the blankets over them both. She drifted off again.

----

**Author's note: **

End of chappie 5! I really am lazy - I didn't want to have to think of a way to write scenes from the movie, especially since it would've meant telling all of those versions seperate. -shudder- Hope you enjoyed. Please review.


	6. Chapter 6

Soooooooooo...I _really_ should be working on my other stories...pffffffffft. Here it is: chapter 6. Cause I'm just that cool. And I had an idea. And after this, I'm not posting anything else that has to do with it until I have something for Mages Council up. Cause I gave up on The Vampire Hunter long ago. Too lazy, too much writers block since I read the books.

Words I spelled wrong/made mistakes with last chapter:

they were comfortable

they should arrive in a couple of years (I seem to have a problem with the word 'they'...)

after a few minutes (not seconds)

John listened for a while (again, not second)

Here are my thank you's for this chapter: thanks to Teri Neko and Ratdogtwo for reviewing.

**Chapter 6**

John was pleasantly surprised to find Vincent in bed with him when he woke up. Remembering, however, the last time that this had happened, he slowly released his grip on the girl and slid backwards away from her. He froze as she turned over. She opened her eyes slowly, grinning at him.

"Boo."

John fell off the bed. Vincent cracked up. John stood, affronted, as the girl laughed. 

"Hmph." He grunted, swinging around. Vincent only laughed harder. "That was _not_ funny."

Vincent grinned. "Sure it wasn't."

"Hmph." John swung around to look at the rooms. "Any idea where we are?" He asked, changing the subject. Vincent looked at him, seeing straight through his effort.

"No," She replied, "but I don't plan on staying around to find out."

John turned to look at her. "What do you mean?"

Vincent turned her face away from him. "I mean, I got away from one old man who determined to see things his way, and I'm not getting stuck with another. I'm out of Xaviers, and I'm out of here." John crawled onto the bed to sit next to her.

"You really had a hard life, didn't you?" He asked. Vincent studied him, feeling the last of her hatred that she'd maintained for him drain away. 

"Yeah." She replied. "But so did you. I just have less trust for people."

John slung his arm around her shoulder. "We're a sorry bunch aren't we?"

Vincent laughed.

----

An hour later, John emerged from the shower to find Vincent dressed and packed. The state of the art sterio system that she'd discovered set up in a hidden closet was blasting pop music. He stopped to enjoy the sight of the normally conservative girl dancing to Will.I.Am's song "I Got It From My Mama". Her eyes were closed, her feet together, her whole body swaying with the music, hands clapping to the beat. He leaned against the doorway to watch. As the song ended, Vincent's eyes opened and she grinned at him. "Enjoy that?" She asked as the next song started. John smiled and tilted his head. Vincent threw a few more shirts into a canvas bag.

"What're you gonna do?" John asked. The girl looked up.

"Travel." She punched a few more pairs of jeans into the bag. "Speak for mutant rights. Do stuff I never could do before." She met John's eyes. "I spoke with Magneto. He's given me some money and a lend of a car for a while. Anything to reassure himself that I'm not going back to Xaviers, I suppose. I'll drop in every once in a while, let you know how I'm doing." She slung the bag over her shoulder. "I think that's everything. See you whenever." She exited the room. John stared after her. A moment later, he followed, watching her throw her bag into the back of a black Nissan Skyline GTR R34. Mystique appeared beside him. "I didn't think Magneto would let her go that easily." She commented. John threw a glance at her over his shoulder.

"I don't think anything could keep Vincent somewhere she didn't want to be." He waved as the sports car peeled out of the driveway, before turning to head back to his room. "Oh, and, please, don't try to flirt with me."

Mystique stared after him as he disappeared down the hall. She was never going to forgive that girl for saying that on the jet. As if being blue wasn't hard enough in a relationship.

----

Three months later, Vincent was standing on a podium in front of a heaving crowd, humans and mutants both. A cure for the mutant gene had been announced. These were a mix of both supporters of the cure and those who were against it. Standing on another podium a few feet away and facing her was an older man, some senator or another. 'Who would've thought it would come to this?' Vincent thought. 'Me, standing in front of a thousand people to debate mutant rights.' She sighed. Her opponent was very stubborn, firmly believing that all mutants should be subjected to the cure. Vincent put on a bored face as she listened to the old man speak. The debate was winding down. Now to play her last card.

"Yes, sir, I'm sorry to interrupt what I'm sure would've been a marvelous and not merely another repeat of the first argument like the last three, but I have something to add." The senator glared at her, and opened his mouth to speak, shutting it again quickly at the look Vincent gave him. "Now, you keep saying that this cure could be used as a weapon, that all mutants should be eradicated. However, the mutant gene occured naturally. You can't suppress it for long. Nature always finds a way. What's to stop it from returning again?" The crowd let out a roar. Vincent allowed a moment for the noise to quiet before she spoke again. "Also, no one seems to have thought of this besides me. You only have so much of the cure. There are billions of mutants in the world. You can't possibly cure us all. Now think. In the United States alone there are hundreds of thousands of mutants. The faction called the Brotherhood is a minute percentile - less than one percent. Thousands of those mutants barely use their powers at all, and if they do, only for everyday things. What happens when those neutral mutants get scared? If they think that someone is going to for them, it's going to come to a choice for them. Pain, or Magneto. What happens when those neutral mutants are forced to act? If you make the mutant community angry enough, there won't be enough of the country left for you to have to worry about eradicating them. And you can't get us all. Think about it. Truly think. By using the cure as a weapon or forcing it upon us, you sign your own death sentence. That's it." She stepped down from the podium before the senator could speak and disappeared into the crowd before anyone could stop her.

----

Back at Magneto's headquarters, Pyro flicked off the televison. At least he knew where Vincent was going. She always came to speak with Magneto before and after a speech or debate. Given that she'd been speaking halfway across the country, she probably wouldn't arrive until late tomorrow or the day after. Which meant that tonight, John would accompany Magneto to spin the speech to their advantage and recruit even more mutants to the cause. This always happened after one of Vincent's country wide broadcasted speeches. They served two purposes: they created more willing participants in the war, and they made those humans waging it stop and think. But, also, it meant that Vincent would spend an extra day at headquarters, to catch up with John.

In three months, the girl had been in and out of Headquarters almost weekly, but John had only seen her for any length of time once. Usually, she had been and gone before he even knew that she'd been there. Last time, however, she had left a note for him saying that next time she's stay a while. He was almost as excited as he had been when Magneto had made him his right hand man, which had happened mere weeks after he had left Xaviers and joined the Brotherhood. He now equaled Mystique in power. Unfortuneately, Mystique had been apprehended while breaking into a government building on a mission for Magneto. The Brotherhood was spending all extra resources looking for her. Magneto was livid, though he tried very hard not to show it. Mystique was his main supporter, and he was not pleased.

----

"No one's talking about extermination." John almost laughed out loud at the weasely looking man standing on the stage in front of them. 'Of _course_ no one talks about it, moron,' He thought. 'It's not like they're going to come up to you and say "Please hold on a minute while we exterminate you", you wanker. ' Next to him, Magneto stood.

"No one ever talks about it." He intoned, moving down the aisle. "They just do it." John followed the older man. Moving the last speaker a side with a glare, he took up his place behind and to the left of Magneto, listening to the mutant speak with one ear and training the rest of his senses on the crowd. There was a group of tattooed young people standing near the stage that he could tell right away would join. One of them had been the one to bring up the topic of extermination, Magneto's signal to intervene.

Finally, the man finished and stepped down, John following closely.

"You talk pretty tough for a guy in a cape." John turned. It was one of the tattooed people. He flicked the strap-on lighter that Magneto had made for him and a fireball appeared in his hand. "Back off."

The guy looked at him and the fire in his hand and backed off a little. A tattooed girl came up to them. "If you're so proud of being a mutant, where's your mark?" She demanded. Magneto looked at her and raised his eyebrows. "I was marked once, my dear." He replied, pulling up his sleeve to show the concentration camp number engraved into his arm. "And, let me assure you, no needle shall ever touch my skin again." She looked at him steadily.

"Do you know who you're talking to?" John asked.

The guy turned to look at him, razor sharp spines shooting out of his skin. "Do you?"

Magneto didn't even blink. "And what can you do?" He asked the girl. Suddenly, she became a blur, shooting to the other side of the room and back. Magneto raised his eyebrows. "Ah. So you have...talents." The girl met his eyes. "That and more." She replied. "I know that you control metal and that there are eighty seven mutants here and none of them above a class three...except for you two."

Magneto's eyes lit. "You can sense other mutants and there powers?" The girl nodded. Magneto leaned forward a bit. "Could you locate one for me?"

----

Vincent struggled clear of the edges of the crowd with difficulty and headed towards the parking lot where she had left her borrowed car, rubbing the back of her neck. That had been one big crowd. She walked quickly, dodging the occasional reporter until she reached the far end of the farthest parking lot, where there was almost no one around. She sighed, thinking she was safe. She could see her car through the trees. Then she noticed the people standing next to it and drew to a stop. A couple, in their late forties or early fifties were standing by the passenger side door, and a man of mid-twenties stood with a young girl beside the drviers door. Another boy, her age, leaned on the hood, basking in the sun of the hot day. All had olive skin, black hair and golden eyes. A pang shot through her. Charlotte had been the only one with green eyes. She shook her head to clear it as she focused on the intruders. They all looked uncannily like her. Vincent's own golden eyes narrowed. She stalked out of the woods, heading straight for the cars driver door, ignoring all of them. What little conversation there had been stopped as she drew closer.

When she was five feet away, the woman spoke. "Aud - Audrianna?"

Vincent scowled. "Nope, sorry." She brushed past the older of the young men and pushed her key into the lock on the car door. The young man grabbed her arm as she turned the key.

"Audy, hear us out."

Vincent jerked her arm out of his grasp and unlocked the door. "My name isn't Audrianna. Sorry, you've got the wrong person."

The woman spoke again. "Audy, where's Charlotte?"

Vincent looked up. They were all standing around her now. "Again, I'm sorry lady, but my name isn't Audrianna. I don't know a Charlotte."

The youngest male spoke. "Audy..." Vincent didn't look at him. She pulled the car door open. The eldest man pushed it shut again. Vincent turned to glare at him. "Audrianna, stop this right now. Answer your mother, and give your brother those car keys. You're coming home with us." His voice was stern, used to being obeyed without question.

Vincent started laughing. "You think you can talk to me like that..." She gasped between laughs. "When I haven't even seen you in eleven years. I don't have a family. My only family died a long time ago. Sorry, mate."

The woman, her mother, spoke again, her voice stricken. "Of course you have a family, Audrianna. We're here now aren't we? You can come home now. We'll be a real family again - "

Vincent cut her off. "No. Don't start, lady. I've got a life and story of my own, a name of my own, and a family of my own. And it sure isn't you."

The youngest male spoke again. "Audy, look at me." Vincent turned her head.

"Well, if it isn't my former twin brother." She mocked. "You look thrashed. Had a hard life growing up in luxury while your twin grew up on the streets, did you? Sorry for the inconvenience."

She pulled the car door open again. This time, her older brother pushed it shut. They stood silently around her. Her mother was crying, her father was angry, her older brother was fuming, her twin was pleading and the younger girl she didn't remember was looking awkward, almost like she was going to cry.

"Look," Her older brother tried, "Just talk to us for a while. Tell us what happened to you."

Vincent whipped her head around to look at him. "You wanna know what happened to me, Mark? I had a set of shit parents who didn't like mutants and decided to give their five year old away to a scientist for experiments and subsequently pushed away their other daughter with her. I grew up in a whorehouse, aborted a baby, and went to a mental institution. I burned a few buildings and went to school. I left school, and started living on my own. End of story." She yanked the car door open yet again. No one stopped her this time. They were all gazing at her, eyes wide and shocked. She looked around at them. "What, did you think it would be easy?" She demanded.

She studied their faces again.

"Audy, where's Charlotte?" Her mother started again.

Her father cut her off. "Aborted a baby?" He thundered. "You did what?"

Vincent met his eyes, giving him glare for glare. "Yeah, I did. Want me to repeat it so you can print it in your magazine, _Dad_?"

He slapped her. Vincent fell back against the car. She heard her mother trying to reason with her father, and her brothers speaking to her while theit younger sister cried. She pushed herself off the car and stepped forward towards her father.

"You know, _Dad_, I've been thinking of all the stuff I owe you from over the years." Her eyes hardened and she curled her fingers into a fist. "I think now is a good time to give it to you." Flames ignited in her hand. Her father staggered backward, eyes on her fist. "Yeah," Vincent smirked. "I'm a mutant. Or had you forgotten what I can do? Well, time for a refresher, and I've got some new stuff now." She stepped forward. Her father took a step back. She smiled, blood from her bleeding lip spilling down over her chin. "That's what I thought."

She turned and swing herself into the Nissan and slammed the door shut. For good measure she locked it. As she slammed the car into gear, her twin, Alex slid into the car through the passenger side window. "I'm coming with you."

Vincent didn't look at him, hearing his thoughts just as clearly as she had been able to since they were small.

"Fine." She replied. "But you're not coming all the way."

She accelerated, and the car shot out of the parking lot, past her parents and older brother and younger sister, and hit the highway, heading east like a bat out of hell.

----

**Author's Note:**

**Short but sweet, no? I thought so too. **

**See ya next update. Which will be after the next Mages Council update. So, see ya then too.**


	7. Chapter 7

I lied. I'm very sad to admit it. I am STUCK. I could not get another chapter on Mages Council up. So, I continue with this while I think of one. So, how's everyone? If you're good, that's good. If not, well then, HA! Not really...anyway...

mistakes in the last chapter:

while their younger sister cried

Thanks are going out to Teri Neko, SweetRevegeful-aka-lamika, ILOVEJACKMERCER, and Ratdogtwo for reviewing.

Here goes chapter 7, setting another record for how long a story has ever been before.

**Chapter 7**

Alex glanced at Vincent anxiously. His sister had been driving steadily for 14 hours, with no stops. In all that time, she hadn't spoken, only stared at the road in front of her, swerving around other cars at breakneck speed. The car was strangely silent, though he could tell she itched to turn on the radio. 'She looks tired.' He thought. 'I wonder if she'd let me drive...'

"No." He started as she finally spoke. She threw him a glance before returning her gaze to the highway.

"Why not?" He demanded. "I have my license."

Vincent laughed. "You think I care about you having a license? I'm not taking you to where I'm going. You can decide somewhere for me to leave you, and I'll drop you off there."

Alex stared at her. "I - I want to stay with you." He replied.

Vincent shook her head. "I don't want to run into those people again." She reached down to pick up a bottle of water from the cupholder. "And you're a homing beacon for them."

Alex gave her a quizzical look. Vincent heard the silent question and responded. "They've already lost two children. One is dead, the other wants nothing to do with them. They're not going to let you go easily. They'll be looking for you."

"I don't care." Alex declared. "It took me eleven years to be reunited with you, and I'm not letting you go that easy."

Vincent shook her head. "You don't want to get mixed up with the people I know." She replied. "You think I run with nice guys? I'm on my way to Brotherhood headquarters." She maneuvered her hands, trying to open the water bottle and keep the car on the road. Alex took it from her and twisted the cap off. "So what?" He asked. "I actually think they have the right in this." He handed the bottle back.

Vincent shot him a look, sensing the fact that he was going to be as mule-headedly stubborn as she could be about this. "Fine." She took a swig of the water. "But it's not my problem what they do with you when we get there." She yawned, and pulled the car over. "Stay on this highway." She reached down and entered coordinates into the cars navigation system. "Follow the instructions from this. Wake me when we get to that point. I'll take over from there." With another yawn, she pushed herself into the back seat of the car.

Alex nodded and slid into the drivers seat. With a careful look in his rearview mirrors, he slid the car into a space in the traffic. Behind him, Vincent's breath steadied. She was already asleep.

----

John stood in the entrance hall of the Brotherhood headquarters, humming under his breath. Vincent had phoned in an hour ago, saying that she'd be there soon. She'd also said that she had a surprise. John wondered idly what it was.

"Not here yet, huh?" Mystique entered the hall through one of the many doorways, this one leading to the stairs. John jumped.

"Not yet." He replied. Mystique shook her head as she crossed the hall. "I'm sure she'll turn up soon." She disappeared into a room. John sighed and returned to humming.

Moments later, he heard a car pull into the garage. He stood as Magneto swept into the hall, followed by Mystique and several others. "She's here, is she?" Magneto asked. "I think so." John answered. Just then the door opened. Vincent staggered in, looking bone tired, her eyes half closed. She glanced around the hall and made a beeline for John, brushing past Magneto. She was about a foot away when she stumbled. John caught her easily, and swung her up into his arms, bridal style.

"Oooooh." The younger and less mature members of the Brotherhood crooned. John gave them a rude hand signal. Vincent blinked and snuggled her head into his chest, almost asleep. Magneto cleared his throat. "Much as I hate to interrupt this touching reunion, who's this?" He pointed to a black haired boy standing in the doorway. John squinted at him. "It's...her." He replied.

"Not really." The boy said. "I'm Alex, Audrianna's - I mean Vincent's -twin."

John gaped, then looked down at the girl in his arms. "You didn't tell me you had a twin." He murmured to her. Vincent turned her head a little, cracking an eyelid to look at him. "I didn't - " She yawned. "-consider him one."

Magneto raised an eyebrow. "How interesting. Are you a mutant?" He asked Alex. The boy nodded. "Telekinetic." He answered. "And I can do a few interesting things with water."

Magneto's eyes lit. "I see." He looked Alex up and down. "Are you willing to join us?" He asked.

Alex hesitated. "I'd like to help."

Magneto smiled. "We'll find you a room." He turned to John. "Take the girl back to your room, fool. She's going to fall asleep like that." John looked down at Vincent. "Actually, she already is." He turned and left the hall, heading toward the elevator.

Alex stared after them. "They share a room?" He asked. Magneto nodded. "When Vincent is around, yes. That's not often, though." Alex looked thoughtful. "Come." Magneto said. "Mystique will show you around and find a room for you." Alex nodded and followed the blue skinned woman from the room.

"Now," Mystique said. "The washroom is over there, the kitchen is down that hall. If you like, we can put you in the room next to your sister and John..."

----

John entered the shared room easily, blessing the voice key that allowed it to open without having to turn the knob. In his arms, Vincent murmured something and subsided, still deeply asleep. John smiled as he placed her on the bed. Where there had used to be two beds, there was now only one. Magneto had given him a bigger one and put the other two into another room for a set of sibling brothers who had joined the Brotherhood. He went to dig through the dresser, pulling out a tanktop and some sweatpants in Vincent's size, thankful that she'd left some clothes behind when she left. When he turned around, Vincent was sitting up, blinking blearily.

"Do you want to change?" He asked. The girl blinked at him, still more than half asleep. John sighed. "Lift your arms." He commanded. Vincent obeyed, swaying. John pulled her shirt over her head, somehow managing to avoid ogling the girl as he tugged the tank top over her head and straightened it, finally unhooking her bra and pulling it out from under the top. "Lie down." He ordered. The girl flopped onto her back. John tugged her sneakers and socks off, and unhooked the button on her jeans. He hooked her legs under one arm and lifted, sliding the jeans off. With difficulty, he leaned her against himself and pulled the sweatpants on to her. "That was a mission..." He muttered. He layed the girl back on the bed again. As he watched, she sighed and turned onto her side, snuggling into the pillow.

Silently, he walked to the door and slipped out.

"Ah, Pyro." He sighed. "Mystique."

He turned. Mystique was walking up the hall toward him, followed by Vincent's brother. "This is Alex." John looked the boy over. He looked just like Vincent, except taller, with shorter hair and lacking a chest. "Nice to meet you." John held out his hand. Alex took it. They shook. "So...you're Aud - Vincent's boyfriend?" Alex asked. "Not really." John replied. Alex gave him a questioning look. "We just share a room." John explained. "Since we came from Xaviers at the same time, roughly...Vincent isn't around much anyway. This is the first time she's been here to stay for any length of time since we got here three months ago."

"And I'm sorry for that." Vincent's voice broke in. They all turned. Vincent was leaning in the doorway to the bedroom. She eyed John. "How're you doing?" She asked him. He smiled. "Fine, thanks. You look drained." Vincent shook her head. "I'm fine." She looked at Alex. "How're you liking it, little brother?" Alex smiled. "I like it." He replied. "Wait." John broke in. "Aren't you two twins?" Vincent nodded. "Yes. But I'm the older one." Alex glared. "By three minutes!" Vincent smiled, and walked over to stand beside John. "And to answer your earlier question, yes, this is my boyfriend." John looked at her, suprised. Vincent leaned over and gave him a peck on the cheek. "Right?" She asked. John nodded, still beyond speaking. "Now," Vincent turned to look at Mystique and John. "If you'll excuse us..." She dragged John back into the bedroom. The door closed and the lock clicked. Mystique glared at the door knob. "That's your room." She said bitterly, pointing. Then she turned and walked away.

----

Vincent pulled John into the bedroom, kicked the door shut behind them, and, as an afterthought, locked it. When she turned, John was standing almost pressed against her. "So," He said, "I'm your boyfriend, am I?"

Vincent smiled. "If you want. That, mainly, was to keep Mystique off of you while I'm gone."

John smiled. "She's not too bad, ususally. But thanks, anyway. However, you did make me look like an idiot, telling them that I'm your boyfriend after I told them that I'm not."

Vincent tilted her head. "What're you gonna do about it?" She asked.

John paused. "I'm gonna beat you at SuperSmash Bros." He finally concluded.

Vincent laughed. "You wish!"

----

"They aren't doing anything naughty." A voice said in Alex's ear. He gasped and turned. Standing behind him was a well built young woman, about sixteen. Her red curls hung to her shoulders, and her green slanted eyes were sparkling with laughter at his reaction. She held out her hand. "I'm Turk. Or Lianne, whichever you prefer."

"Alex." He replied, shaking her hand. He motioned to John and Vincent's room with his head. "If they aren't doing anything 'naughty', what are they doing?" He asked.

Turk smiled. "Playing video games, it looks like. Apparently they used to that twentyfour/seven at Xaviers. I guess they have a lot to catch up on."

Alex grinned. "So, what can you do?" He asked. Turk tossed her hair. "I have X-Ray vision." She replied. "And I can make things blow up."

Alex's eyes went wide. "Cool."

Turk gave him a once over. "You looked pretty lonely. Wanna hang out?" She asked.

Alex's smile grew. "Sure." He took the proffered hand. Turk towed him down the hall.

----

"And...they are gone." Vincent grinned, listening to the thoughts around them with half her attention, and trying to keep the other half on the video game infront of her.

John paused the game. "Are they really?" He asked.

Vincent nodded. "Hey, why'd you pause it? Now I have to look at DK!" She turned to look at John and gasped as he leaned in and kissed her. She froze. John pulled away. "I'm sorry -" He started. Vincent didn't let him finish. With one hand she reached up and touched his face. "It's okay." She whispered. John stared at her for a second. "Okay." He agreed. He pushed her down onto the bed. "Now, now, John. Let's not be naughty." Vincent laughed. John leaned down and pulled her into another kiss. "Who's being naughty?" He whispered in her ear. Vincent laughed and kissed him again. "Not us."

"Glad you agree."

--------------------------

**Author's Note:**

That was the most awkward scene that I've _ever_ had to write. _Ever._ So you'd better appreciate it! That's all for now. Tah!


	8. Chapter 8

So, lately I've been reading manga. Lots and lots of manga. Finished the Kare First Love series (sappy in some parts, gag inducing others but still pretty good), and I'm now working on Fruits Basket, Kekkaishi, Blade Of Heaven, High School Debut (that one's like drugs. it makes you want to hit something - preferably the main character - but you just _have_ to finish it), Full Moon, Death Note, Tail Of The Moon, Eyeshield 21, Vampire Doll, Gunslinger Girl, Initial D, Last Fantasy, Host Club and I'm picking at Never Give Up and Bizengast (I think that's spelled wrong...). I tried From Far Away but gave up halfway through the first book. Too sappy. I also tried Hikaru No-Go. And several of my friends have lists of stuff to read/watch. So I've been pretty busy. Oh, and I'm catching up on Bleach and Wolf's Rain episodes (all available on YouTube - though Bleach only has 70-something out of 160-something in english dub, and I'm not sure how many there are in english for Wolf's Rain). Here's some advice - for good manga downloads for free go to . Quality stuff.

About the story:

Behind the story: Mystique was rescued, but obviously not cured. Don't worry. She gets captured again. XD

Mistakes last chapter:

the paragraphs were all clumped together in places, so they came out weird. (note to self - double space)

"Actually, she already has."

"She's not too bad usually."

Thanks to Ratdogtwo and Teri Neko for reviewing chapter 7. And vivienn for putting in reviews on other chapters.

On with the pointless and plotless story!

**Chapter 8**

_She's staring at her belly, she's so scared to touch it,  
imagining the feeling when it kicks inside her stomach.  
Too late for safe sex, should have used a latex.  
She can't afford a baby on minimum wage paychecks.  
Her waistline climbs by inches,  
'cuz she traded in the morning workouts for morning sickness.  
Feeling nauseous, sleeps on her back because she's cautious.  
Give life or take life, that's her only options.  
If only she had a magic wand, she'd go back to that night  
and put her clothes back on.  
But she can't change time, or what's growing inside.  
How could she love something that's barely alive?  
Her body's aching, shaking from sweaty palms, and cold sweats.  
Mentally exhausting like phone sex.  
No regrets, life or death, it's high stakes.  
'cuz right or wrong, it's only her choice to make._

When John woke up, the first thing he heard was the music. Then the sound of someone crying.

'Where'm I?' He wondered. 'Who's crying?' Then memory hit him. _Vincent._ Vincent had come back, they'd gone into the bedroom, he'd kissed her...His eyes flew open and he sat up. Vincent was sitting against the far wall, knees up, arms wrapped firmly around them, head down. John swallowed hard. That was the same position she'd been in when he'd first triggered her memories. He needed to step lightly to keep her from getting worse, and he needed some way to calm her down. Thinking quickly, he eased off the bed and sat slowly against the wall opposite her, keeping his hands in view at all times. He picked the stereo remote up off the floor where it had obviously been thrown and pressed the stop button. Silence fell, broken only by the sound of Vincent crying.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Her head lifted. She stared at him through red eyes. "I - I thought that if I did it - had sex - with someone I liked - someone I loved - it would cover up the memories of _then._ I - I thought I could forget. But I can't. Every time I close my eyes, I see Charlotte - see what they did to her. I thought I could drown out her screams! But it isn't working! Is it always going to be like this? Am I broken forever? _What's wrong with me?_ What is it, John? Did they manage that too? Even if none of them ever had children, they still left their mark. _Here._" She touched her forehead. "Maybe I could do what Stryker's wife did. Will dying finally let me be in peace? Will it let me close my eyes without another set opening behind them?" She lapsed into sobs.

John sat silently, letting her calm down. Finally she sniffed.

"I'm alright."

"Are you?"

She met his eyes. "Yes." Her voice sounded surprised. "Yes, I am. I'm ok."

John smiled. "Crying is good for the soul. Someone I knew once told me that tears are the body's way of purging memories and wiping away emotions. She said it's like when you shake an Etch-A-Sketch. It gives you a clean slate."

Vincent returned his smile with a shaky one of her own. "She was very wise. Who was she?"

John's face blanked. "My mother." He replied.

Vincent stared at him for a moment, expression faltering. "What - what happened to her?"

He stared at the floor. "My father - he - he -" His voice cracked. John closed his eyes, tears leaking down his face. He drew up his knees and wrapped his arms around them, putting his head down, a copy of Vincent's earlier position. Vincent crawled across the floor to him. Apprehensively, she knelt behind him and wrapped her arms around him, pulling his head up to her shoulder.

"It's alright. Do you want to talk about it?"

John shook his head. "Not - not yet."

Vincent hugged him harder. "That's ok too." She soothed. John's shoulders were still shaking. Drawing a deep breath, she did the one thing she hadn't done since her sister had died. Voice quavering, she sang.

"_This world will never be what I expected._

_And if I don't belong, who would've guessed it?_

_I will not leave alone_

_Everything I own_

_To make you feel like it's not too late_

_It's never too late..."_

Down the hall, all movement stopped. A thin, high voice drifted along the hallway, darkened with sadness.

"_Even if I say_

_It'll be alright_

_Still I hear you say_

_You want to end your life_

_Now and again we try _

_To just stay alive_

_Maybe we'll turn it around_

_Cause it's not too late_

_it's never too late."_

Slowly, everyone turned to look at the door to Vincent and John's room.

_"No one will ever see  
This side reflected  
And if there's something wrong  
Who would have guessed it  
And I have left alone  
Everything that I own  
To make you feel like  
It's not too late  
It's never too late."_

Tugging his hand loose from Turk, Alex began to push his way down the hall, shoving mutants out of his way as he went. Any growls or threats that would've followed were quelled as Turk followed, glaring at those who got in the way.

_"Even if I say  
It'll be alright  
Still I hear you say  
You want to end your life  
Now and again we try  
To just stay alive  
Maybe we'll turn it all around  
'Cause it's not too late  
It's never too late._

The world we knew  
Won't come back  
The time we've lost  
Can't get back  
The life we had  
Won't be ours again."

Opening the door, slowly, Alex eased himself into the bedroom. Vincent and John were on the floor on the other side of the bed, John leaning against Vincent as she sang, her head back. Both's eyes were closed.

_"Even if I say  
It'll be alright  
Still I hear you say  
You want to end your life  
Now and again we try  
To just stay alive  
Maybe we'll turn it all around  
'Cause it's not too late  
It's never too late  
Maybe we'll turn it all around  
'Cause it's not too late  
It's never too late, it's never too late  
It's not too late,  
It's never too late."_

Finally, Vincent let her voice drift into silence. She opened her eyes. As Alex opened his mouth to speak, she placed a finger to her lips and motioned to John.

'He's asleep.' Alex heard her as clearly as if she had spoken aloud. Accepting the renewed twin bond between them without a fight, he mimed moving the boy to Turk, who had followed him in as the song ended. She nodded, and leaned down to help him. They gently grasped John's arms and shifted his weight off of Vincent and maneuvered him to the bed. Waving for them to leave ahead of her, the girl bent down and brushed the hair from his face, before pressing a kiss to his forehead and pulling the sheets over him. 'Sleep well, Pyro.'

Pulling the door shut behind her, Vincent turned to find half of the population of the Brotherhood headquarters staring at her. She flushed, her olive skin darkening.

With evil grins, the younger members of the Brotherhood cooed at her. "Ooooooooooooh."

Vincent grinned. "You only wish it was you." She said aloud. With titters, the crowd dispersed, heading back to their previous activities. A moment later, it was just Alex and Vincent in the hallway. Even Turk, Alex's self appointed gaurdian, had disappeared.

Alex met her eyes squarely.

"We need to talk."

**Author's Note:**

Songfic chappie! Almost. Surprise! I wrote this in half an hour! And BTW, I hope you appreciate my effort in this, cause my nice Corel WordPerfect is gone, so I'm doing all this on WordPad. Enjoys! Reviews, please!


	9. Chapter 9

Hey. -makes small talk- So, I'm bored, and Rinjii is 'away'. Also known as, not on msn. So I have nothing to do, so I'm gonna write this. Yay? Yay! A few points I felt like making - I did spell Bizenghast wrong. There's an 'h'. I spelled it right this time.

And the site was a n i m e - e d e n . c o m. No spaces, though.

And I finished the first three Hellsing OVA's. Best things ever. Watch em. Do it. All available on YouTube. I strongly encourage you to watch em.

Oh, and thanks go out to Teri Neko and Ratdogtwo (my main supporters! And unlike Rinjii, they don't hit me when I don't update! I luvz you!) for reviewing. Oh and please note: I prefer reviews to story alerts. I can see you when you just add it to that list, not that I mind being on it. But I prefer reviews, even if they say "This sucked! Get a life and a plot, would you?!'

**Chapter 9**

Vincent shook her head.

"Why did I know you would say that?" She asked sarcastically.

Alex smirked, tilting his head. "Maybe cause you're in my head just as much as I'm in yours?"

"Shut up. Come on, we can talk down this way." She led the way down the hall to a locked door. "This is my 'study'." She explained, feeling Alex's curiousity. "Magneto gave it to me when me and John arrived. I haven't actually used it yet." She dug her keys out of her pocket, and shoved one into the lock. As the door creaked open, they heard a muffled curse. Peering in, they saw Mystique pinning Jamie, the well known Multiple Man, to the desk. As always, she wore no clothes, but Jamie's jeans were open.

There was silence.

"You know, I really didn't need to know what you really do in your free time, Mystique." Vincent commented conversationally. The spell broke. Mystique pushed herself upright. Jamie hurriedly zipped up his jeans, blushing.

"Well, well, if it isn't our resident pyropathic. I wonder, do fires have minds you can get into as well?" Mystique shot back.

Vincent raised her eyebrows. "News flash, Mystique," She replied, quoting one of John's favorite expressions, "I don't listen to everyone's thoughts all the time. I would like to retain what little remains of my sanity."

Mystique snorted.

Vincent smiled. "Now, we'll leave you two alone." Turning, she pushed Alex ahead of her back down the hallway.

"Where to now?" Her twin asked. Vincent shrugged.

"Back to mine and John's room, I guess."

Suddenly, a yell echoed up the hallway. "Brotherhood, mobilize! We are moving out _now_!" Around them, doors were flung open and the members of the Brotherhood flooded the hallway. Mystique appeared out of seeming nowhere beside them.

"Magneto wants you! Move!" She yelled over the noise of a hundred mutants yelling and doors banging. She disappeared back into the crowd almost before Vincent could nod. Throwing one last thought '_Stay here._' back to her brother, she shot off in the direction Mystique had taken. Shaking his head, Alex ran after her.

"I am NOT staying here!"

--

Having been delayed in the crowd, by the time Alex found Vincent in the entrance hall of the mansion, she was already deep in discussion with Magneto.

"You're doing _what_?"

"Vincent, now is not the time. We need you to _stay here._"

As Vincent opened her mouth to argue, John appeared beside them, Mystique and Turk in tow. "We're ready to move." He reported. Raising a hand to forestall what Vincent was about to say, Magneto turned.

"Brotherhood!" He called out above the chaos. Instantly, the foyer fell into silence. "The time has come! The government has made the first move. Today, not one, but _two_ of our number had their cure forced upon them! We will not stand by and allow this! Today, _we strike back!_"

Ignoring the rest of the speech, Alex focused his attention instead on the four standing behind the older man. Turk was heading his way. Vincent was glaring at Pyro, who had his lighters strapped on, Mystique looking on. His hands were on Vincent's shoulders as he pleaded with her under cover of the echoing cheers of the Brotherhood. Vincent's face was cold. She shrugged his hands off her shoulders and turned. John grabbed her arm, leaning in to say something to her. Vincent stiffened, and, as Alex watched, turned and punched John in the face. Silence fell quickly. Evidently, he hadn't been the only one watching the two argue. Magneto turned to speak to them, but froze as Vincent stalked past him and grabbed Alex by the arm, shoving Turk, who had just reached him, aside.

"You're not going with them, are you?" She demanded. Alex stilled. Behind Vincent's back, Turk was looking at him pleadingly. Behind her, Magneto motioned to the rest of the Brotherhood to begin to move.

"Umm..."

Vincent's face, if possible, grew harder. She shoved his arm back at him hard enough to make him stumble. "Fine." She hissed. "But don't come looking for me afterward."

John, who had just drawn level with them, froze. "Vincent, please don't do this." He pleaded. His nose was still bleeding. Vincent ignored him.

"I've had enough of this - this - _organisation_." She spat. She pushed past Alex and headed for the door. Silently, he turned to watch her go, stunned by her reaction.

"Vincent." Magneto called out, over the crowd. She didn't pause. "Vincent!"

Stride unwavering, she pushed her way through the crowd and out the door. No one saw the single tear trickle down her cheek.

--

"Oh my god." John dropped his face into his hands. "What have I done?"

Mystique dropped her arm around his shoulders. "She'll cool off, eventually."

"No, she won't." Alex interjected. Mystique glared at him. He glared back.

"What, did you want me to lie? Vincent has no intentions of coming back. She's gone to find Bobby, whoever that is."

Instantly, everyone froze. Magneto turned to look at the boy. "She's gone where?"

--

A block away, a black Saturn peeled out of an underground garage, narrowly missing a young girl and her dog. Inside, Vincent glared straight ahead, blocking her twin from her mind as well as she could while keeping enough attention on the road to drive.

"Mauddie? Whera're weh going?" A small, sleepy voice asked from the back.

"It's alright." She responded. "We're going to find somewhere safe for you."

In the backseat, a four year old boy nodded once and fell asleep once more.

--

Bobby had been sleeping when Rogue ran into his room and started shaking him.

"Bobby! Bobby, get up! It's Vincent! She's here!"

Bobby sat up. "What?"

Rogue nodded. "Get dressed! The Professor wants to see us in his office." She ran out of the room.

Hurriedly, Bobby dragged on a pair of jeans over his boxers and pulled a shirt over his head as he attempted to stick his feet in a pair of sandals. As he stumbled out of his room, formerly his and John's room, Rogue grabbed him and dragged him down the hall.

"She just showed up." She explained rapidly. "Said she needs somewhere safe for the kid."

"What kid?"

"The kid she has with her. She didn't say where he was from or who he was, but she did say he was a mutant."

Bobby nodded. Seconds later, they came to the door of Professor Xaviers study. Before Rogue could knock, they heard the Professor's voice in their heads. '_Enter._'

Bobby, tense, turned the brass knob and pushed the door open. And there she was, Vincent, looking weary and sick, a child of around four years balanced on one hip, totally asleep. He gasped. She looked different from the last time that he had seen her. Instead of the dark, secretive girl, she had the look of a harried young mother. Her face was tight, as if she was forcibly keeping herself from making an expression.

"Look," He heard her demand. "Can't you just babysit him for a while? I'll pick him up later." She shifted the boys weight higher on her hip and he stirred, blinking sleepily around at the others. His black hair was long and flopped into his striking green eyes. His skin matched Vincent's exactly.

"The child is beautiful." Storm commented from the side of the room. Vincent smiled, _actually smiled_, and nuzzled the little boy's face.

"He looks just like his mommy." She replied. "His name is Lance."

Lance made a sound reminiscent of a sigh, and put his head back on Vincent's shoulder. Within seconds, he was asleep again.

"Please, Vincent, take a seat." The professor motioned toward a chair. "It seems you have a tale to tell."

Vincent, obviously annoyed, rolled her eyes. She sat in the chair, shifting Lance so he was curled in her lap, head on her chest. She seemed resigned, perhaps sensing the professors obvious determination to get the full story. She motioned to Bobby and Rogue to seat themselves as well, the old hostility between the two girls forgotten.

"I don't know where to start..."

"You said that he looked like his mother. Perhaps you could start there?"

She nodded. "As good a place as any...about three years into our 'stay' with Cutter, he hired my sister out to a man, so he could have children. His wife was apparently sterile. Anyway, we soon found out that this was a lie. His name was Matthew, and he was part of an underground organisation that helped try to get girls like us out of our situation. During his 'scheduled hours' with Charlotte, he let her sleep and played some tape of something. I really wouldn't like to know what it was. Anyway, it was convincing. After about three months, it was apparent that Charlotte wasn't pregnant. But by then, he had Cutter's trust...and Charlotte's affection. Unfortunately for both, he developed some feeling for her as well. They called it 'true love'. Either way, they ended up sleeping together. Just once. But it was enough. Charlotte got pregnant. Matt grew protective of her. Eventually, he slipped up. Charlotte had the baby, and Matthew named him Lance. He got Lance out easily. Then he tried to get us out a week later. Matt was killed in the attempt. Charlotte...was raped and killed. I made it out alive. I made contact with the organisation, but by then I didn't want anything to do with adults. I stayed on the streets until it became apparent that I was also pregnant. You know that I aborted my baby. When I ended up in the hospital, and then the mental institution, they came to visit me. They used to bring Lance with them. When I got out of the institution and started working, they turned Lance over to me. That organisation was no place for a baby. But when the remains of Cutter's gang found me, I left Lance with a friend and ran. That was when Storm and the Proffessor came across me and I came here. I've kept in contact with my friend since I got here, and by mere coincidence, when I left, I ended up only a block away from her, with Magneto. Not as a Brotherhood member, but as a bystander. Albeit a bystander with influence, but still a bystander. I never really stayed there. Either way, Lance stayed with me and Jodie. I visited him every chance I could. And now that the Brotherhood is moving...I convinced Jodie to move. She's gone. I took Lance, to bring him here. Now, if you would just babysit him for me, while I try to get Alex and John out of whatever they're getting into the middle of..."

The professor shook his head. "We need more information, Vincent. Scott is...Scott is dead."

Vincent stared, mouth open. "Dead? What happened?"

Xavier met her eyes squarely. "Jean happened, Vincent. She isn't dead. And she isn't Jean anymore."

Vincent's jaw snapped shut. "So the Phoenix finally got out of your control, did it?" She asked.

Xavier stared at her. Around the room, Storm, Logan, Bobby, Rogue, Kitty and Piotr gaped.

There was a long silence.

Finally, Logan spoke. "You knew? You knew about the Phoenix?" He asked.

Vincent nodded. "I used to feel it stir at night. When Jean's conscious mind was sleeping, the Phoenix used to come close to the surface. Close enough to wake me, that is. Before it got any farther, he," She nodded toward the Professor, "would block it. And it would recede until the next night. It used to keep me up for hours."

"Those marks." Rogue whispered. "The shadows under your eyes that never went away. You knew. You knew this would happen."

Vincent shook her head. "I hadn't been here long enough. From what I knew back then, this could have happened every night for years. And I didn't know she would kill Scott. Actually, I thought that she would at least make an effort to keep _him_ alive. Subconscious part or not, Jean was in love with him."

Logan put his face in his hands. Rogue put her hand on his arm. Vincent studied the faces around her. Storm's face was neutral, giving nothing away. Piotr and Bobby were openly shocked. Kitty was crying quietly into Pete's side. Xavier was gazing at her, eyes steady.

"Vincent, we _need_ more information. I assure you, we do not wish to harm John or any other members of the Brotherhood. We want to save the lives of the innocent's that are going to be stuck in the middle of this conflict." The room was quiet. Vincent met the Professor's gaze for a long moment.

"They're moving on Alcatraz Island. They plan to destroy the source of the cure, once and for all."

Instantly, everyone in the room moved. Piotr, Bobby, Kitty and Rogue followed Storm out the door. Logan crossed the room to whisper into Xaviers ear. Then both disappeared out the door.

'_Liar._' Vincent thought at the Professors back. '_You'll do whatever it takes to protect this precious balance of yours. Even if it kills John and everyone else in the Brotherhood in the process._'

The Professors voice floated back into the room. "Please remain behind, Vincent, and care for your nephew."

Vincent blocked him from her mind. '_Bullshit._'

**Author's Note:**

Sorry this took so long. I meant to have it up earlier...but I'm lazy, so... Oh well. Hope you enjoyed. Reviews, please.


	10. Chapter 10

I'm quite surprised. I'm not sure, but I don't think I made any mistakes last chapter. Wow. First time EVER. Kudos to me. Thanks for getting this far. XD

This, my friends, is either the last or second last chapter in this still plotless story, Ring Of Fire by pen-name author Rukie. I wanna thank everyone who read this, everyone who reviewed this (with special thanks to Teri Neko and Ratdogtwo), and especially Rinjii, who, although she only reviewed once, and generally didn't have much to say at all, did kick me several times while yelling 'Get on with it!'

This is Ring Of Fire chapter 10. Enjoy.

**Chapter 10**

"Thanks, Jubilee."

"No problem. You owe me a story when you get back, though."

Vincent nodded distractedly, already walking down the hall. Jubilation Lee shrugged, and shifted Lance into a better position in her arms.

"You tired, little buddy?" She crooned. Lance shook his head. "Wanna watch some television?" Jubilee asked. The little boy nodded. Jubilee smiled. "Alright." She swung around, then caught a look at what the boy was wearing. "Well, that's no good! You'll never be able to sleep in that! Let's go pillage Bobby's room, shall we?"

The boy grinned, not understanding what she meant, but gleaning the fact that they probably weren't supposed to be doing it. Jubilee placed him on the floor and took his hand.

"Let's go, eh?" The two tottered off down the hall, earning many an odd look from the other students, who had taken advantage of the fact that the teachers were gone.

--

"Form a line!" Logan shouted. "Don't let them cross!" On either side of him, soldiers and X-Men alike stood shoulder to shoulder, blocking the path of the mass of mutants that made up the Brotherhood. The soldiers cure guns came up, aiming carefully. Bobby's eyes roamed over the the row of mutants who stood on the bridge that Magneto had lifted to form a line of reinforcements to Alcatraz. There, in the middle was the metal manipulating mutant himself. To his left stood Jean, her face devoid of any emotion, closely shadowed by someone who looked like a male version of Vincent. And directly to Magneto's right was a familiar fire mutant. John. Pyro.

Bobby's eyes narrowed slightly. He had known the day John and Vincent had left that it would come to this. He didn't want to do it now any more than he had then. But John was threatening hundreds of innovent people, people that Bobby was fighting to save. If this is what it came to, so be it. He would regret it later. He didn't have time right now.

On the bridge, Magneto turned and said something to John. Pyro nodded, raising his arm. The X-Men tensed, anticipating a rush. It never came. As Pyro swung his arm, someone grabbed it, and, demonstrating a perfect move, used his moment to flip him over. As Pyro's head rushed toward the ground, the person jerked on his arm, pulling his head up before it hit the ground. Instead, he landed flat on his back. Mouth hanging open, he gaped. Vincent stood above him, a switchblade to Magneto's throat. The older man's helmet was on the ground. From the look on his face, he was trying to move the metal away from him, but failing. Vincent was blocking his power. On his other side, Jean watched emotionlessly. All movement stopped. Vincent dropped John's arm.

"That's _enough_." Her voice echoed out over the now silent ground. "This will end _now_."

Beside her, Magneto laughed. "Don't listen to her, my brothers! Don't forget, this girl betrayed us! She left us! She told the traitorous X-Men of our plans! What more can she do to us?"

Vincent snarled. "I can burn you to a fucking crisp, old man. Do _not_ try me." She glared out over the crowd of mutants and soldiers. "Begone, all of you! The ground troops are less than ten minutes away! They have cure cannons by the truckload! Get out of here now, if you value your powers, and your lives!"

There was a moment of silence.

Then, in a rush, more than half of the Brotherhood turned and disappeared back onto the bridge. As more mutants streamed after them, Vincent lowered the knife slightly.

"Let's not have any undue fussing." She whispered to him. "I'm going to let you go. I don't want anyone hurt, ok?"

Magneto nodded. On his other side, Jean's eyes started to glow.

'_It's on now, old man._' Vincent thought to Magneto. '_Run._' Simultaneously unblocking his power and dropping the knife, she lashed out with her own power, just in time to meet Jean's attack head on. She almost screamed as the powerful mutant's mind battered at her own. Gritting her teeth, she spread her power out like a blanket, and wrapped herself and Jean in it, locking their psychic powers into a ball.

'_You._' Jean growled in her mind. '_You will die for them? For these paltry insects?_' Outside their ball of energy, the ground troops pulled in, cure guns and cannons blasting. Mutants all around them dropped, screaming as the cure entered their bloodstream, eliminating the mutations in their cells. In the first few seconds, almost a quarter of the Brotherhood members became members of the human race once again. Jean and Vincent roiled at the feeling their change caused in the psychic field.

"Damn right, bitch!" Vincent yelled back, striking out with her power as Jean faltered. With a mental scream, the Phoenix let out a series of psychic and telekinetic flares as Vincent pressed down on it. Around their ball of energy, the ground flattened. Mutants and troops alike were thrown backwards away from it as the earth rippled. On the ground, John curled into a ball beside Vincent's feet, screaming as wave after wave of the mental attack hit him. As the sound belatedly reached her ears, Vincent stamped her foot once. The ground around Jean sizzled and burst into flame. As the Phoenix turned her attention to the newest attack, Vincent heard Xavier speak in her mind.

'_It's time. Now, Vincent. I will help._' Vincent thought back her acceptance, and gave one last _push._ With Xavier helping, the Phoenix's defence crumpled. She screamed in anger as Xavier hurriedly began erecting mental blocks. With a new flare of power, she began to push outward again. Several people around them disintegrated as a flare of power hit them.

"Shoot!" Vincent screamed out to the soldiers behind her. One leveled a gun.

"Move!" He yelled, trying to aim. "You're in my way!"

Vincent shook her head. "Can't - move!" She yelled. "Just shoot!"

On the ground, John raised his head. Vincent threw herself forward, grabbing Jean in a bearhug, keeping her from moving. With her last dregs of energy, she blocked Jean's telekinetic powers. The soldier pulled the trigger.

Time seemed to slow. John screamed as the bullet hit the two women. Vincent bit her lip as it passed through. Face to face with Jean, her eyes widened. Then the bullet was through, ripping a hole through Jean's chest. Blood spattered. For a moment, Vincent could have sworn she saw a look of peace enter the other woman's eyes. Jean's voice echoed through her mind. '_Thank you._'

Then her knees gave out beneath her. She collapsed. A second later, Jean fell beside her. The other woman was already dead.

She stared upward, her hands around her stomach. She could feel the blood spurting into her hands, her fingers growing heavy. Her vision swam. Everything was going black.

"Vincent! _Vincent!_" Through the spots that crossed her eyes, she could see John staring down at her, his mouth open in horror. She lifted her hand to touch his face, leaving a bloody smear.

"It's alright." She whispered. She could taste his tears on her face.

"No." John gasped. "No, it's not alright. Where're you going, Vincent?"

Vincent smiled. "Not going nowhere without you." She whispered. "This is just the next step. I'll be waiting."

Her eyes closed against the blinding light that burned infront of her. She cast her consciousness away, towards Xaviers.

--

Lance was out on the grounds with Jubilee, walking, when she found him.

He stiffened slightly as he felt her approach, relaxing as he recognized her presence.

'_Mauddie? Mauddie, what's wrong? You're sad._'

'_Baby, Mauddie isn't coming home._'

The boy nodded. She'd told him that this might happen. He didn't know what it meant, but he seemed to sense that he wouldn't be seeing her anymore.

He swiveled to look up at Jubilee, who was staring down at him, concerned.

"Mauddie says she's not coming home." The little boy informed her. Tears filled Jubilee's eyes.

For a moment, time seemed to stop. Across the planet, mutants and humans alike felt a great sense of peace. Many paused, their hands rising to touch their chest, above their heart. Babies stopped crying. Children stopped screaming. Halfway across America, a woman named Jodie pulled her car over to the side of the highway and stepped out, staring at the sky as the heavens opened and a light drizzle began to fall.

"So it ends." She whispered. "Good-bye, Vincent. And thanks."

Vincent's voice echoes in Alex's mind. '_Bye, little brother._'

At Xaviers, everyone stopped moving. The many telepaths touched their foreheads in tribute as Vincent's presence slipped away.

The silence was broken when somewhere in the mansion, a radio kicked in.

_Oh...It's time to let it go._

--

Vincent's eyes were closed, her face peaceful.

John choked on tears. Behind him, a scream ripped the silence. The sound of a soul tearing. It was Alex. He was on his knees, hunched over his sister's body. He ripped at his hair, still screaming. No one had the heart to go near him. Around him, water streamed upwards, falling back in the form of rain as the boy cried. Finally, his screams subsided into a weary whimpering. He started as someone gripped his shoulder. Looking up, he saw John, his eyes swollen, tears still flowing freely down his cheeks. Their eyes met. Slowly, John reached down and hugged him. Alex leaned into the other boy, hugging him back. Together, they shared their grief.

Nearby, Bobby was supporting Rogue, as Kitty cried into Piotr's chest. Logan's claws were sliding in and out with sickening _shnick_s as he flexed his hands, trying to refrain from crying. He was staring at the two bodies as though it would revive them. Lightning flashed across the open sky as Storm let her sadness and anger get the best of her. It was the first time she'd shown emotion through her power in years. To those around her, it meant more to the memories of Jean and Vincent than the tears streaming down her face.

--

_Two years later..._

The cure had been forbidden to be used as a weapon, by order of the government of the United States. This fact was celebrated as much as the wedding they were all there to witness.

Marie smiled as Bobby leaned in to kiss her. The garden erupted into cheers. The couple broke apart, both smiling widely. Marie leaned forward and tossed her bouquet into the crowd. Jubilee gave a shriek as she reached upwards and grabbed it. Every one smiled.

The entire population of students at the mansion, as well as many graduates, were present. Logan sat in the front row, wearing his best suit and tie, a smile almost splitting his face. Beside him sat Alex, accompanied by Turk, who had been cured in the attack on Alcatraz, and Lance, who had grown into a mischiveous boy of eight. There was talk of how he would be a heart breaker when he got older. Beside him sat John, a rare smile on his lips.

As the couple descended the stairs from the alter and swept back down the aisle, he stood and slipped off to the side, out of the crowd that was rising to congratulate them. Looking on, he saw a familiar girl, dressed in boys clothes, black hair flowing over one shoulder, slouched in a chair, grinning like a fool and whispering to another familiar young woman with deep red hair and a young man with red sunglasses. Seeming to feel his gaze, she looked up. Her startling yellow eyes met his own, and he gasped. She nodded to him, her smile widening. The moment was broken as the young newlyweds passed the chairs. Then they were gone. He looked around. Alex was staring, his own yellow eyes wide, at the same chairs. Slowly, the twin turned his head, meeting John's gaze, his expression asking the question for him. John nodded slightly. Vincent may have died, but she was still around, guarding, Jean and Scott in tow.

John turned and walked away, back toward the mansion, thinking. Rogue had accepted the cure, but remained at the mansion to teach along side Bobby. They had announced their engagement the summer after the attack on Alcatraz, drawing the school out of one of the deepest pits it had ever been in. Now, almost two years later, the deaths were easier to talk about, think about. He hadn't thought he would survive those first few weeks, those first few minutes, when he would suddenly see a flash of black hair disappear around a corner, or sparkling yellow eyes staring back at him in the mirror. But he had. And he was all the stronger for it. He and Alex were now close friends. He was never quite sure if Alex knew what had been between himself and Vincent, but he had his suspicions. He had once managed to get Alex drunk enough to talk about his twin's death. All he had gotten was that Vincent had been too weak to block him out of her mind at the end. He'd never found out what that meant, but he gathered that it meant that Alex had been with her when she died.

He'd tracked Vincent's family down, telling them what had happened to Charlotte, and what became of Vincent. They had asked after Alex, but he hadn't told them that the boy was currently living in the Xavier mansion. As far as he knew, they were still searching for him. And let them search, after what they'd caused in their family.

--

He closed the door to the room behind him, staring around. Nothing in here had changed in two years. There was still a picture of the six click plus Vincent on the night-table, the walls were still painted with strange, twisting patterns that met in an intricate knot over the bed. There was still a television balanced precariously on the dresser, connected to an old Nintendo. A pile of old journals lay in a pile in the corner. There was still a radio on the shelf.

Sighing, he reached over and turned it on.

_Oh, it's time to let it go_

The world's got a funny way of turning 'round on you  
when a friend tries to stab you right in the face  
losing faith in everything I thought I hoped I knew  
don't sweat it, set a false pretense

Betrayed but not gonna be willing to change  
and it doesn't seem likely to fade  
betrayed but not gonna be willing to change  
cu-cu-cu-cuz you know...

It's sacrifice  
false pretense, you'll hurt again  
stop pretending, don't deny  
a false pretense, you'll hurt again

All along you know you thought you got the best of me  
you were wrong and I'm laughing right in your face  
I cannot believe you claimed you were my family  
don't sweat it - it's set on false pretense

Betrayed but not gonna be willing to change  
and it doesn't seem likely to fade  
betrayed but not gonna be willing to change  
Cu-cu-cu-cuz you know...

It's sacrifice  
false pretense, you'll hurt again  
stop pretending, don't deny  
a false pretense, you'll hurt again  


_guitar_

Oh, it's time to let it go

I can't seem to understand it, how you turned out to be so cold  
you tried but were caught red handed, are you happy with your role?  
it's funny to me how you've turned into such a joke...

it's sacrifice  
false pretense, you'll hurt again  
stop pretending, don't deny  
a false pretense, you'll hurt again

So play the game until you run out  
and play the game into my hand...

_**END**_

--

**Songs list:**

chapter 1 - Iris - Goo Goo Dolls

chapter 5 - Bye Bye Beautiful - Nightwish

chapter 8 - Someone I Once Knew - Dead Celebrity Status

chapter 10 - False Pretense - The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus

I loved getting the reviews for this story, you were all so great. Good luck with your own words of wisdom.

Thanks for reading.

-Rukie


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